First of all, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine expressed his gratitude to his Austrian colleagues – the President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka and President of the Federal Council Margit Göll – for the invitation to come to Vienna and take part in this high-level parliamentary meeting.
In times of extraordinary challenges, when the international order system is under a devastating attack, we must unite our efforts,” said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in his speech at the panel on “Security in the Danube Region”.
Ruslan Stefanchuk emphasised that russia is trying to cynically trample on generally accepted rules and norms, and the latest example of total disregard for freedom of choice, freedom of speech and territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine were the so-called “presidential elections” in russia: “It was an election without a choice. At a time when freedom and democracy are absent in russia, it was especially cynical to hold pseudo-elections in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.” In particular, he noted that this is why they cannot be recognised by any country or international organisation.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine called on the present speakers “to be united and in solidarity, because the choice of the russian population, drugged by propaganda, was neither free nor fair nor legal”.
In addition, the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine said that since the beginning of this year, Ukrainians have already experienced several large-scale combined attacks, and attacks by drones and missiles have not stopped for a day. “Odesa, Kherson, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, Sumy – this is the bloody geography of the latest russian attacks that cost dozens of Ukrainian civilians their lives,” he said, adding that the Ukrainian part of the Danube region is no exception, as there are no safe places in Ukraine today: “Ukrainian ports on the Danube, in particular, Izmail and Reni, are being attacked by russian drones – people are dying, infrastructure is being destroyed, and the region's ecosystem is suffering.
“Along with the blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, russia's crimes on the Danube must be regarded as crimes of ecocide, which must be investigated, and the perpetrators must be punished,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk. He also added that, despite this, Ukraine is fighting and making a significant contribution to the security of the Danube region: Zmiinyi Island has been liberated, and the russian aggressor has been pushed out of the western part of the Black Sea.
At the same time, he stressed that the Danube region is an important component of the Ukrainian economy: “We are interested in supporting and developing shipping and Ukrainian river port infrastructure on the Danube, in particular, the already mentioned ports of Reni, Izmail and Ust-Dunaiskyi.”
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed that in a time when the whole country is working to defend itself against aggression, internal reserves are not enough, which is why it is important for Ukraine to work with partners and attract international technical assistance to upgrade its fleet and port equipment and restore port infrastructure.
In his speech, Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed his gratitude to the European Union for creating the Solidarity Roads, which allow exporting key products to the European Union and third countries. He noted that the Danube route of the Solidarity Roads remains the main route for Ukrainian agricultural exports.
“Despite russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Ukraine, together with its international partners, primarily the EU, has managed to ensure the export of agricultural products via alternative routes,” the Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine said, adding that a new grain corridor “Ukraine-Moldova-Romania” was launched in October last year and that it is now possible to talk about the creation of a grain corridor “Ukraine – ports of Romania and Bulgaria”.
At the same time, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine once again stressed that this work is being carried out in unprecedented security conditions and directly depends on the overall situation at the front and the ability of the Ukrainian Defence Forces to counter the enemy.
“The security of Ukraine's port infrastructure is directly related to the effectiveness of air defence, so a sufficient number of such assets and proper supply of ammunition is what we expect from our partners,” he said.
In conclusion, Ruslan Stefanchuk noted that the security of the Danube region, the security of the European continent and, ultimately, the development of the security architecture of the whole world today depends on the outcome of russia's war against Ukraine, on the ability of the democratic world to stop the lawlessness, restore justice and punish the perpetrators.
“Strengthening defence capabilities, intensifying defence production and increasing support for Ukraine are necessary investments. Stable and timely supply of the full range of weapons to Ukraine remains vital. If the Ukrainian army receives such weapons in sufficient quantity and on time, it will be able to inflict a military defeat on russia on the battlefield and end this war,” the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed.