Statement of “United for Ukraine” (U4U)
23 February 2023, 16:15
The Statement of the members of the global parliamentary network “United for Ukraine” (U4U) during their visit to Ukraine on February 23-24, 2023 on the occasion of the anniversary of the full-scale russian aggression against Ukraine.
We, the Members of Parliament representing the Committees on Foreign Affairs, National Security and Defense and the global parliamentary network United for Ukraine, who visited Ukraine in support of Ukraine on February 24, 2023:
We condemn in the strongest possible terms russia’s unjust and unjust war of aggression against Ukraine, the illegal occupation of Ukrainian regions aimed at destroying the Ukrainian statehood and the Ukrainian people, and will never recognize russia’s illegal attempts to annex part of Ukrainian territory since 2014. We fully support Ukraine’s goal of restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.
We believe that Ukraine’s decisive victory is critical to European and global security, as well as to the prospects for sustainable peace on the European continent. If russia is not destroyed on the battlefield in Ukraine this year, its military machine will remain a serious military threat that could escalate into a larger conflict with the whole of Europe and strengthen the efforts of autocratic states to disrupt the global rules-based international order. We are convinced that this must be prevented, including through increased military and defense support for Ukraine, sanctions pressure on russia and its global allies, including belarus and Iran.
We share Ukraine’s view that everything possible must be done, including providing timely military and technical assistance, to bring victory in the war closer. We welcome the recent decisions of our governments in this direction and call on all partners to provide Ukraine with all the necessary military means for a quick victory. We urge to continue on this path and accelerate the process based on the understanding that the supply of better and more modern weapons is the only way to achieve Ukraine’s victory, reduce the number of casualties and damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure, and create a basis for peace and stability in Europe.
We condemn in the strongest terms russia’s tactics of terrorizing Ukrainian civilians by targeting residential areas and critical civilian infrastructure with artillery, missiles and drones in retaliation for losses on the battlefield. We therefore welcome the decision already taken to designate russia as a terrorist state or sponsor of terrorism, including by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament. We are committed to ensuring that all perpetrators and accomplices are brought to justice. Full accountability must be ensured, in particular through the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression. We call for accelerating the legal confiscation of russia’s frozen reserves and assets abroad to compensate for the damage caused to Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens.
We express our support for the Peace Formula proposed by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi as an effective tool to end russia’s war against Ukraine and establish a comprehensive, just and lasting peace and security for the whole world. We call on our governments to commit to its implementation and to facilitate the involvement of international partners from around the world in its realization.
We see Ukraine as part of the European and Euro-Atlantic family and support its future membership in the EU. We, the representatives of the EU parliaments, call on EU member states to support Ukraine and its work, as well as the work of the European Commission, to decide on the launch of accession negotiations as early as possible in 2023, in order to strengthen the basis for further reforms and recovery.
We also look forward with great hope to the NATO Summit in Vilnius and call on NATO member states to provide clear and strong security guarantees for Ukraine. We are confident that Ukraine’s membership in NATO would greatly contribute to the security of the Alliance and help russian society finally get rid of the imperial dreams that putin uses to strengthen his regime. It would send a strong signal that Ukraine is not in russia’s sphere of interest and that russia has no veto over NATO’s expansion. Ukraine would significantly strengthen the Alliance and its European pillar, as the Ukrainian army is the strongest and most battle-tested in Europe. The guarantees of Ukraine’s future membership in NATO will help to ensure sustainable peace in Europe and will play an important role in the implementation of democratic transformations in russia. Therefore, Ukraine’s membership in NATO is supported by the russian democratic opposition.
United for Ukraine, February 23-24, 2023