UN peacekeepers will help restore Ukraine's sovereignty - Foreign Ministry

20.02.2018 17:10

Ukrinform

A UN peacekeeping force deployed throughout the entire occupied territory of Donbas will help restore Ukraine's sovereignty, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said in a statement due to the fourth anniversary of the beginning of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calls on partners to use all possible means to prevent the escalation of the international armed conflict in Ukraine caused by the Kremlin's aggressive policy, to force the Russian Federation to stop aggression, violations of human rights and support for terrorist activities, to introduce a UN peacekeeping mission, to end occupation of Crimea and seized territories of the Ukrainian Donbas, as well as to make full compensation for the damage caused," reads the document.

The ministry emphasized that the UN peacekeeping force deployed throughout the occupied Donbas territory, including areas near the temporarily uncontrolled section of the Ukrainian-Russian border, should become an effective tool for the restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

According to the Foreign Ministry, on February 20, 2014, Russia launched previously planned armed aggression against Ukraine, which resulted in temporary illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, an attempt to annex them and spread by Russia of the international armed conflict to Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"These criminal actions took the lives of more than 10,000 people, led to colossal destruction of the region, turned about 1.8 million Ukrainians into internally displaced persons," reads the statement.

The ministry stated that the Russian occupation authorities ignores international law and violates human rights in the occupied Crimea, as well as directly organizes and encourages its puppets to similar actions in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"The occupying power resorts to taking Ukrainian citizens hostage - dozens of people are illegally held in Russia, in temporarily occupied territories of Crimea, Donbas, as a result of trumped-up cases. Their release remains a major priority for Ukraine and the international community," the ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry thanked international partners for their clear position in protecting and restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders.