Statement by the MFA of Ukraine on the occasion of the anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Resolution "Territorial Integrity of Ukraine"

Six years have passed since the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 68/262 "Territorial Integrity of Ukraine".

Supported by the overwhelming majority of the UN member states, this document was adopted in response to the onset of the armed aggression of one of the UN Security Council permanent members against Ukraine - the military occupation by Russia of the Ukrainian Crimea and an attempt to annex it by holding an illegal fake referendum. With the approval of the Resolution, the General Assembly strongly protested against the flagrant violation of international law by the Russian Federation and reaffirmed the sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

Significantly, that only 11 countries led by Russia voted “against” the document in 2014, thus against the call to refrain from attempts to change Ukraine's borders through the threat or use of force or other unlawful means.

Ignoring the opinion of the international community, Moscow not only failed to stop the illegal occupation of Crimea but went on with the armed aggression against Ukraine in Donbas.

By its aggressive actions against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, the Russian regime is undermining the fundamental principles of international law, which underpin modern international relations, global security and stability.

To legitimize its international crimes, Russia has transformed the Ukrainian Crimea and Donbas into a territory of a humanitarian catastrophe, intimidating, harassing, and depriving of their rights those who speak against the Russian aggression.

Having stopped the further advancement of Russia's military machine at the cost of enormous human and material losses, Ukraine still enjoys full support from the international community. A number of General Assembly resolutions “Human Rights Situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, Ukraine” (71/205, 72/190, 73/263, 74/168) and “Problem of the Militarization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, Ukraine, as well as Parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov” (73/194, 74/17), approved during these years witness thereto. Ways to end the wrongful acts of Russia in Crimea and Donbas are now being considered on an annual basis by the UN member states in General Assembly within the framework of the agenda item “Situation in the Occupied Territories of Ukraine”.

Moscow tries to use the propagation of the COVID-19 pandemic to lift sanctions, which once again demonstrates the true substance of its aggressive policies.

It is the solidarity and responsible behavior of states that should form the basis for joining unification of our efforts to counter the virus. Only compliance with the norms of international law is the key to preventing the spread of the aggression and revanchism virus, and can, therefore, become the grounds for lifting sanctions.