The Russian Federation's primary objective is to capture the entire territory of Ukraine and destroy its statehood with Moscow using talk of negotiations as a cover to prepare for new aggression, a Ukrainian diplomat has said.
Speaking at the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation meeting on Wednesday, May 3.
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Nataliia Kostenko, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, said: "Seizing the entire territory of Ukraine and destroying its statehood remains the main goal of the Russian Federation.
“When, after years of negotiations within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group and the Normandy Four format, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it only confirmed its intentions to implement the long-standing plan to destroy Ukraine as an independent and sovereign state.”
Kostenko drew attention to the fact that after 14 months of high-intensity military operations, the Russian Federation continues its efforts to advance and capture the entire territory of Donetsk region, with the most challenging situation observed in Bakhmut.
She pointed out that the Russians has concentrated 25,600 military personnel in the Bakhmut area alone, armed with 65 tanks, 450 armoured vehicles, 154 units of tube artillery, and 56 MLRS.
"Just think: to capture a settlement with a pre-war population of about 70,000 people, the Russian Federation was forced to deploy an operational grouping of forces that can be compared to the total military power of some European countries," the diplomat said.
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Despite the Russian troops' numerical advantage, Kostenko emphasized that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are holding the line and inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.
According to her, only by realizing that the Kremlin's war aims to destroy Ukrainian statehood, can one understand Russian military tactics.
The diplomat stressed that the Kremlin regime has no signs of readiness to end the bloody war, and Moscow's calls for a "ceasefire" and "negotiations" without the de-occupation of Ukrainian territory are a trap.
"If Ukraine stops resisting, it will be destroyed. If Russia withdraws its troops from the territory of Ukraine and stops military operations, this will lead to the restoration of peace," highlighted the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna.
On the same day, during the Open Debate of the UN Security Council on "Futureproofing Trust for Sustaining Peace," Khrystyna Hayovyshyn, Ukraine's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, emphasised the need for accountability for war crimes and enforcement of international law to restore trust in global relations and strengthen peace.
"Speaking about the role of the Security Council in shoring up trust, we should not deny the fact, that currently, the Council is not a credible point of reference because it is incapable to deliver what it has been established for. Notably, for the maintenance of international peace and security as its primary responsibility that Member States conferred on the Security Council according to the UN Charter," she stressed.
The diplomat noted that irresponsible behavior of a single country has undermined trust and called for accountability and enforcement measures against violators. To illustrate the urgency of the situation, she compared the situation to a burning house, stating that the fire of Russian aggression must be extinguished.
She called for action similar to that of the Nuremberg Tribunals to combat violations and aggression."We believe the future trial against Russian war criminal will play the same role," the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN summed up.
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