URU, Alm.del - 2016-17 - Bilag 106: Åbent brev af 2. februar 2017 fra medlemmer af det ukrainske parlament om situationen i Ukraine

Udenrigsudvalget 2016-17
URU Alm.del Bilag 106
Offentligt

A group of members of the Ukrainian Parliament and the Chairman of Verkhovna Rada

have addressed parliaments of the free world with an open letter about the deteriorating

situation in Eastern Ukraine

To the Parliaments of the EU Member States, USA, Canada and Japan,

and to the European Parliament

Fellow Parliamentarians,

We urge you to pay attention and to act as regards the worsening situation in Eastern Ukraine.

We must reiterate that Russia, as the aggressor country, has not renounced its continuous course

aiming to escalate conflict in the temporarily occupied parts of Donbas. This is proven by a critical

situation, which has emerged during the past days and which is turning into a humanitarian

disaster as a result of systematic attacks by illegal armed groups near the town of Avdiivka in the

Donetsk Region.

On 29 January 2017, the militants violated the ceasefire and attacked the Armed Forces of

Ukraine in Avdiivka using different types of weapons, including those prohibited by the Minsk

agreements such as Grad multiple rocket launchers, 152 mm and 122 mm artillery, 120 mm and

82 mm mortars, as well as tanks and small arms. In just two days, eight Ukrainian soldiers were

killed with Russian weapons and 26 soldiers were wounded. Yet, this attack touched the civilian

population as well - two people were killed during the shelling of residential areas.

URU, Alm.del - 2016-17 - Bilag 106: Åbent brev af 2. februar 2017 fra medlemmer af det ukrainske parlament om situationen i Ukraine

We would like to draw your attention to the critical situation that has developed in Avdiivka due to

the systematic shelling by the Russia-backed militants. As a result of fighting, power supply lines

and a number of infrastructure objects have been damaged leading to disruptions in water supply

and heating. During the past days, in Avdiivka the air temperature has dropped below -18

degrees. On the night of January 31 a state of emergency was declared in the town.

Over 22,000 people are left without electricity, water and heating. The emergency services have

started evacuating children and disabled persons from Avdiivka.

Respective Ukrainian authorities put up all efforts to help the civilian population in arranging water

supply, electric generators and necessities. However, due to the worsening weather conditions

and the constant deterioration of the security situation near Avdiivka, the town is on the verge of a

humanitarian disaster.

Destruction of the infrastructure, caused by the actions of the Russian Federation, is threatening

the environmental safety in the Donetsk region and may lead to the further deterioration of living

conditions.

In order to improve the situation in Avdiivka, it is necessary to start repairing the damaged

infrastructure immediately. However, the militants’ continuous shelling prevents the repair works

and the situation deteriorates even further.

We strongly condemn such actions of the Russian Federation and appeal to our fellow

parliamentarians to pressure Russia to make it stop firing and destabilizing the situation in the

Donetsk region. Once there is a ceasefire, Ukrainian authorities will be able to begin repair works

in Avdiivka.

Moreover, the security crisis in Avdiivka has emphasized the importance of increased presence of

international organizations in order to ensure monitoring the situation and as well as calls for

immediate deployment of an armed OSCE police mission in the Donetsk region.

The crimes committed by the Russia-backed militants against civilians in Avdiivka have once

again proved that only strict sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation and the international

consolidation of efforts can stop the escalation of the armed conflict in the Eastern Ukraine.

Therefore, it is important to intensify pressure on the aggressor country together until peace is

fully established and territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored.

We, the parliamentarians, are writing to you with the request to use all available tools of

URU, Alm.del - 2016-17 - Bilag 106: Åbent brev af 2. februar 2017 fra medlemmer af det ukrainske parlament om situationen i Ukraine

governmental and inter-parliamentary diplomacy and increase the pressure on the Kremlin.

We will be grateful if the leadership of your parliaments publicly calls upon the Russian authorities

to fulfill all their international obligations and to stop the deliberate aggravation of the security and

humanitarian situation in Donbas.

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee

Deputy Head of the European Integration Committee

Head of parliamentary faction "Petro Poroshenko Bloc"

Head of parliamentary faction "People's Front"

Andriy Parubiy

Hanna Hopko

Maria Ionova

Ihor Hryniv

Maksym Burbak

First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Iryna Gerashchenko

Source:

Website

of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine