“Russia’s goal is to constantly keep us in an intimidating uncertainty – sword raised all the time – will or won’t they attack?
Ukraine is the first of the Eastern Slavic states to declare its irrevocably firm ties to the West. However, the purposeful and widespread distribution of hundreds of thousands of Russian Federation passports in Eastern Ukraine, its years of disinformation campaigning in order to prepare the Russian Federation’s people for potential military action and applying a variety of other measures so as to prevent Ukraine from finally escaping the grasp of the Soviet era and dependency of the Kremlin, it is all failing.
Without any other way to appeal to the neighbouring space, the Kremlin administration decided that it was only left with the military, the energy sector and intelligence service provocations. However, you cannot force Europe to bow down this way,” Seimas delegation to PACE chairman E. Zingeris says.
The declaration signatories, members of PACE alongside the Baltic Plus group, emphasise that peace and democratic security in Europe rely on respect to the international rule of law and European values and standards. The document once again emphasises firm support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, its internationally recognised borders and its European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
It is stressed that the signatories are gravely concerned by the increasing escalation of ceasefire violations perpetrated by representatives of the Russian Federation, as well as the increasing number of casualties and continuing mustering and concentration of troops near Ukraine’s borders and the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula – all this harms the combined stability and security of the European continent.
The PACE members call for the Russian Federation to cease all its provocations, halt the blockade of the Kerch Strait, no longer escalate the situation and dispel all concerns. This must be done in full transparency and providing information about military actions as per the Vienna Document’s risk reduction mechanism as demanded by Ukraine.
The document urges Russia to comply with the OSCE’s principles and commitments and act to the letter and spirit of legally established commitments to the Council of Europe.
The recent events, particularly the refusal to renew ceasefire commitments, are a display of unwillingness to peacefully resolve the conflict in East Ukraine. On the contrary, Russia is clearly acting against efforts to encourage peace, initiating baseless military movement, concurrently falsely accusing Ukraine and denying its participation in the Donbas region conflict.
In light of the PACE member states’ continuing calls to withdraw Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, the signatories demand Russia cease disinformation provocations and both cyber and social media attacks against Ukraine, which have greatly worsened an already dangerous situation.
The declaration’s signatories state that serious consideration is needed regarding “the provocations by the Russian Federation and military actions, which escalate the situation. Russia must be sent a very clear signal that if it does not cease escalating the situation, it will face severe consequences, including sanctions.
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