Ambassador Power in Ukraine: Russia Underestimated Ukrainians’ Resilience

It is safe to say that there has not been another American official who understands the plight of Ukraine so precisely as Samantha Power, the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Even before visiting Ukraine last week, Power, an Irish American academic, journalist, author, diplomat and Cabinet official, earned the admiration of Ukrainians around the world for her steadfast support of Ukrainian independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Seated at the circular table of the UN Security Council, she never hid behind diplomatic courtesies in responding to Russian fabrications about its invasion of Ukraine. Power convincingly pointed her finger at Russia’s Permanent Representative Vitaly Churkin when accusing Moscow of launching the brutal, bloody war against a peaceful neighbor.

At the same time, Power is respected for her support for the downtrodden wherever they live and a host of contemporary sustainable issues.

No wonder, President Poroshenko quipped to her in Kyiv: “You cannot even imagine how famous you are in Ukraine.”

And not only in Ukraine.

During her trip to Ukraine, Power had the opportunity to witness first hand Ukraine’s difficult evolution from Russian subjugation through homegrown crooks and traitors and finally to today’s clear course toward national sovereignty, democracy, wellbeing and European integration. She appreciates that the past 24 years have not been a walk in the park for Ukrainians and their nationally-minded elected officials because Russia has been shadowing their every step in the hope of catching Kyiv unaware and then re-subjugating it behind a restored iron curtain.

She also had the opportunity to experience the devastating effect of Russia’s war against Ukraine that so far has claimed some 6,500 lives as well as the high moral commitment of everyday Ukrainians and their brave fighting men and women to defeat the enemy and resume their peaceful, democratic transition from slaves to free people. She honored the memory of the martyred Maidan defenders in Kyiv and felt in her soul that the issue was not speaking or not speaking Russian or Ukrainian but living as Ukrainians without regard for language and faith so long as it is without Russian interference.

Samantha Power expressed many powerful words and assurances to the Ukrainian nation but perhaps the most indicative of her views and America’s policy were articulated in the phrase: “The United States are with you as you fight on two fronts: countering Russian aggression and building an open, responsive government.” She emphasized that Washington supports Ukrainians and Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty “in the face of Russia’s hostile actions in eastern Ukraine and continuing occupation of Crimea.”

Here are some more of Power’s supportive declarations made in Ukraine:

Speech to Ukrainian nation June 11

“Building a system of new rules will never depend on what your government does, but rather on what you (Ukrainians) make it do, and what you do yourselves.”

“You are not alone. The US have never left your side, and will not leave your side.”

“If Russia continues to disregard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and if Russia continues to violate the rules upon which international peace and security rest, then the United States will continue to raise the costs on Russia. And we will continue to rally other countries to do the same, reminding them that their silence or inaction in the face of Russian aggression will not placate Moscow; it will only embolden it.”

“But there is something more important that is often lost in the international discussion about Russia’s efforts to impose its will on Ukraine. And that is you – the people of Ukraine – and your right to determine the course of your own country’s future.”

“It is about restoring your voice – a voice too often ignored by corrupt politicians, oligarchs, and foreign powers. Or, as one of the great rallying cries of the Maidan put it: Ukrayina po-nad u-se! Ukraine above all else!”

“Maidan was made in Ukraine. A Ukraine of university students and veterans of the Afghan war. Of Ukrainian, Russian, and Tatar speakers. Of Christians, Muslims, and Jews.”

“Maidan was not just about reversing a cynical political decision or unseating a single kleptocratic government. Instead, it was about dismantling a generations-old system that kept producing rotten decisions, broken institutions, and corrupt leaders – and it was about replacing it with one that was accountable to the Ukrainian people.”

“But the Kremlin made a very serious miscalculation: it underestimated your resilience and your willingness to unite to help your fellow citizens. And it underestimated your tenacious determination to fix a broken system.”

“To understand what is meant by Ukrainian solidarity, look at the countless civil society groups that have sprung up to respond to the massive humanitarian crisis produced by Russian aggression.”

“The Kremlin also underestimated your resolve to see through the process you started on the Maidan – to build a system that answers to you, the Ukrainian people, rather than to the oligarchs or to Moscow.”

“These new members of government – together with civil society – are pushing for greater transparency.”

“Hard as it is, remember what is at stake – not only for yourselves, but for generations of Ukrainians to come. Remember that the yearning to have a voice – which brought so many Ukrainians out to the Maidan, and resonated with so many millions more – the cry of Hid-nist! Hid-nist! Dignity! Dignity! – is just as powerful now as it was then.”

“That means that Ukraine is stronger when it listens to those calling on its military to respect international law while defending its people from attacks by combined Russian-separatist forces – even as its enemies ignore those same standards. It means that Ukraine should zealously protect freedom of the press, including for its most outspoken and biased critics – indeed, especially for its most outspoken and biased critics – even as the so-called separatists expel journalists from the territory they control, and even as Russia shutters Tatar media outlets in occupied Crimea. It means that politicians and police across the country should recognize how crucial it is that people be able to march to demand respect for LGBT rights and the rights of other vulnerable groups without fear of being attacked. And it means that the Ukrainian government should do everything in its power to get humanitarian aid to the civilians trapped along the line of contact and those struggling to survive in separatist-controlled areas, as well as to ensure the swift freedom of movement across the line for humanitarian actors.”

“The United States will continue to press tirelessly for Nadiya's (Nadiya Savchenko) release, as well as the release of all Ukrainians who are being held illegally by the so-called separatists and by Russia.”

“The Ukrainian people are one-of-a-kind, but the situation you find yourselves in is not. People around the world find themselves facing similarly daunting obstacles: corrupt politicians, rotten institutions, powerful oligarchs, and even aggressive neighboring countries intent on meddling in their sovereign affairs. And these people are watching you. They learned from your stand on the Maidan. And they are learning from the struggle that you are waging right now – to build a democracy from the grassroots up.”

About the United Nations

“We can’t get out of the (UN) Security Council what we need, and the Security Council doesn’t live up to its responsibilities because it has given a country – that is an aggressor – in 2014 and 2015 this privilege of having a veto, but we can work through other mechanisms.”

"And the other mechanism … is Western democracy, is Europe and the United States, and others who have – within their power – the ability to stand up for these norms and to put in place measures that will definitely take their toll on the Russian economy in the first instance and – over time – will take their toll on the Russian calculus.”

About Crimea

“The United Nations is documenting what is happening in Crimea. We always emphasize, that, although, the focus now is on the situation in the east of Ukraine, we will never forget about Crimea, and will not stop until Crimea is back under the control of Ukraine.”

“Crimea will remain in our thoughts and in our hearts, and in all our dialogues with the Russian Federation.”

“On all maps the United Nations, Crimea will remain a part of Ukraine, where it should be, and this, believe me, enrages Russia.”

Interview with BBC

“I am very sorry for the Ukrainian government because of what is happening in the country in the past year and a half, because all of this time Russia is trying to turn every aggravation of the situation in the East is somewhat bigger, capturing town after town.”

“Our main task is to try to isolate Russia so that Putin’s conduct changes.”

“The G-7 made it clear that the United States and leading European countries are ready to introduce more stringent sanctions in the event of further aggression.”

“It is important to shame Russia, it is important to tell the truth and it is important that Russia not only feel pressure from the United States that will always be close to the Ukraine, but also the voices from Africa and other regions of the world that are as outraged by the actions of Russia in Ukraine, as United States.”

Polish Newspaper

“America clearly sees the truth about the destabilizing actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.”

“How I'd love to have veto power over their (Russia’s) veto.”

Witnessing Ukraine’s Freedom Mission

During her brief trip to Ukraine, Samantha Power witnessed the Ukrainian nation endeavoring like no other country in history to defend itself against a vicious aggressor, build a democratic life for itself, encourage nascent NGOs to take an active role in civic affairs, and purge the country of internal and external corruption and traitors. She witnessed Ukraine’s genuine achievements, dreams and nightmares. And she saw that Kyiv is striving to fulfill this mission without wide foreign support but unfortunately with a great deal of cynics and naysayers.

At the end of her speech and visit, Ambassador Power reached into the not-too-distant past and cited the heroic Ukrainian poet and national activist Vasyl Stus, who was persecuted by the Soviet Russian regime, and spent 23 years behind bars, where he died in 1985.

“Ukraine, you may still be bleeding from pain,” she said, “but you are strong and defined. And if you stay strong together, no kleptocrat, no oligarch, no foreign power can stop you.”

Too bad that Samantha Power is not vying for the Presidency of the United States. She would find many ardent supporters among Americans of Ukrainian and other Eastern European descent.

Don’t Stop Until Ukraine Has Democracy, Territorial Integrity, Sovereignty

Ambassador Samantha Power, US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has been an ardent supporter of Ukraine as it has been forced to defend itself against blatant Russian aggression. Power does not shirk from any occasion to refute Russian lies about its invasion of Ukraine and the 15-month-old Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-15. In the Security Council of the UN, she regularly challenges and disproves every fabrication uttered by the Russian Permanent Representative Vitaly Churkin, oftentimes overlooking diplomatic niceties.

In the aftermath of Russia’s escalation of its war with Ukraine last week and the intensification of fighting in Maryinka and Krasnohorivka, Power forthrightly assured her Russian counterpart and Security Council colleagues that the fight in defense of Ukraine will not end inconclusively. There is a definite mission and goal, she declared.

“The consequences of Russia’s contempt for Minsk and the rules undergirding our international peace and security are too great – both for the integrity of the international system, and for the rights and welfare of the Ukrainian people. We cannot fail to see and fail to act. We must not stop applying pressure until Ukrainians get the stable democracy, the territorial integrity, and sovereignty they yearn for and deserve,” Power said during another special Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Friday, June 5.

Her eloquent support for Ukraine should only be matched by other leaders of the free world, who unfortunately display far less mettle. Power is heading to Ukraine on a fact-finding mission this week and we look forward to reading her eye witness account of what she sees.

Among other her other observations made at the Security Council meeting, Power said Russian forces launched on June 3 multiple, coordinated attacks west of the Minsk line of contact in Donetsk. They were definitely concentrated on the towns of Maryinka and Krasnohorivka, she said.

Russia and its terrorist allies offered multiple – often conflicting – explanations for these attacks, she said tongue in cheek.

But this set of arguments, Power continued, has been undermined by some of the mercenaries themselves, who seem to have forgotten to run their tweets and their blog posts by Moscow for approval. During the attacks, one tweeted, “‘Maryinka is ours!’ – posting a photo of armed soldiers atop a tank flying the separatists’ flag. A post on a separatist website said, “‘As a result of a massive attack by [DPR] armed forces, Maryinka has been liberated.’”

The problem with the terrorists’ line of argument that Maryinka and Krasnohorivka are internal – or occupied towns – quite simply, is that it is false, Power said. “At no point did the Minsk Agreements recognize Maryinka and Krasnohorivka as separatist-controlled territory. Nor did they grant the separatists control over Debaltseve or other areas combined Russian-separatist forces have seized, or tried to seize. Yet for Russia and the separatists, it seems the contact line can shift to include the territories that they feel they deserve.”

Power pointed out that objective eyes in eastern Ukraine belong only to the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission, the SMM. “And what they tell us is that, on the evening of June 2nd and early morning of June 3rd, ‘SMM observed the movement of a large amount of heavy weapons in DPR-controlled areas – generally in a westerly direction toward the contact line – close to Maryinka, preceding and during the fighting.’ So, to repeat: according to the SMM, heavy weapons from the Russian-backed separatist side moved westward ‘preceding as well as during the fighting.’”

She said these and other joint attacks by Russian forces have had deadly consequences.

“At least five Ukrainian soldiers were killed, and 38 wounded, in the assault on the towns. The number of casualties is surely higher, but we do not, unfortunately, have reliable reports from the separatists’ side. That is because, as the UN’s Human Rights Monitoring Unit noted in its May 15th report, independent media have been prosecuted, threatened, and otherwise muzzled in separatist-controlled territory.

“We also do not know how many Russian soldiers were killed in recent attacks – or in any of their operations in eastern Ukraine, for that matter. Russia continues – despite incidents such as the recent capture of two special operations Russian soldiers in Schastya last month – to deny any military involvement in eastern Ukraine.”

Putin continues to violate the right of the bereaved of Russians killed in action in Ukraine by depriving them of information of their fate, Power noted.

“Just last week, President Putin signed a decree classifying any death of Russian soldiers in ‘special operations’ in peacetime a state secret, a policy which previously was limited to wartime only. Not content with denying their military service in life, Russia now denies their loved ones the respect and closure – not to mention social services – for their service in death. And it denies the Russian people knowledge to which they are entitled – of a conflict their government has been fueling with weapons, training, and soldiers. No matter what your opinion of the open secret that is Russia’s military involvement in eastern Ukraine and occupied Crimea, the dignified recognition of one’s dead should have primacy.”

But suffering is hardly limited to those involved in the fighting, Power said.

“Civilians living near and along the front lines continue to endure profound hardship. Approximately 1.3 million Ukrainians have been displaced by the fighting. Small children on the front lines have gotten used to going to school and sleeping in basements. Families live underground for months at a time. The elderly and disabled are trapped with little access to vital medicine and other forms of assistance. A health professional working in Debaltseve said, ‘I’ve met elderly people who say that they would just like to die. They don’t have depression; they just don’t want to be 80 years old and living in a basement.’”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine follows what Power called Moscow’s playbook of occupying foreign lands or, in other words, how Russia repeats its own imperial history.

“By now, the international community is quite familiar with Russia’s playbook when it comes to efforts to occupy the territory of its sovereign neighbors – as it did in Crimea, and before that in Transnistria, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. The consensus here, and in the international community, remains that Minsk’s implementation is the only viable way out of this deadly conflict.”

Power also offered praise for the Ukrainian government’s efforts to address crime and corruption.

“The Ukrainian government has made good faith efforts to honor that consensus – notwithstanding the seemingly endless violations by Russia and the separatists – and deliver on the commitments made at Minsk. Ukraine is holding direct dialogue with the separatists, a bitter pill to swallow, but one they have swallowed for the sake of peace and for the sake of the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. At the same time, Ukraine has undertaken critical efforts, with the participation of Ukrainian civil society, to address pervasive problems it inherited from its predecessors, like widespread corruption, as well as to pursue crucial reforms such as decentralization. Ukraine cooperates with the international monitors and bodies, and has committed to address identified areas of concern. The United States will continue to raise tough issues and these areas of concern, including some raised here today by the briefers, with the Government of Ukraine, and we will support the government and Ukrainian people as they continue their efforts toward meaningful reform.”

While Russia arms its mercenaries and escalates the war, Power criticized the Security Council and the world for turning a blind eye.

“Yet Russia – and the separatists it trains, arms, fights alongside, and with whom it shares command and control systems in eastern Ukraine – continues to ignore this consensus, flouting the commitments it made at Minsk. It goes right on applying its playbook in new territories – as though this Council and the world are too blind, or too easily deceived to notice.”

Can the Free World Launch New D-Day to Rid Ukraine of Russia?

Seventy-one years ago, the free world, feeling that the time was ripe for an endgame to drive Nazi Germany’s armies from Europe and defeat Hitler’s plans for world domination, launched the historic, multi-national D-Day invasion of occupied France.

It took 11 months of blood-and-guts warfare for Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s armies to push the Nazi armies back to Berlin and force Germany to sign an unconditional surrender that halted the killings and crimes against humanity and brought peace and stability to Europe.

The free world demonstrated political and military dedication, determination and the right stuff in mobilizing itself to defeat an enemy that had set sights on dominating the entire world.

So what’s changed in the ensuing seven decades with the free world’s dedication to freedom, democracy and national sovereignty? Why is the United States, the European Union, and NATO hiding behind tepid and ineffective threats and sanctions while Russia intensifies with impunity its war against Ukraine? Have Russia’s energy reserves, trade potential and nuclear weapons paralyzed the free world into blind hope about Moscow’s intentions and reprehensible ambitions about global domination?

The leaders of the free world, gathering now at the G-7 summit in Germany, have an opportunity to send Russia a forthright and most importantly united message that it will no longer tolerate its unrestrained arrogance and aggression. The threat against Ukraine and the free world is no less dangerous than was the threat against Poland, France and the free world seven decades ago.

Since earlier this spring, Russia has been massing its regular army and mercenary detachments along the border with the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine, raising the threat level not only against Ukraine but also the entire world. Simultaneously, Moscow is eroding the world’s confidence in its assurance to uphold peace and stability today.

Despite the imperfect Minsk Accords, Ukraine has been abiding by them while Russia has been conducting hit-and-run attacks against Ukrainian positions until last week, when fighting surged in the war zone. Ukrainian troops and Russian mercenaries fought their first serious battles in months.

The Ukrainian military said the Russian terrorists had tried to advance using tanks and up to 1,000 fighters west of the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk, in what was described in news stories as the most significant escalation of the conflict in about three months and in defiance of a ceasefire deal. Ukrainian military command called it a “large-scale offensive against Ukrainian positions.” Russian mercenaries claimed that 15 of their terrorists and civilians were killed but denied that they had started the new assault.

President Poroshenko reported to the Verkhovna Rada on June 4 that some 9,000 regular Russian soldiers are deployed in Donbas and warned of a “full-scale” Russian invasion of Ukraine. He said Ukraine has deployed 50,000 troops in the conflict zone to meet the threat. His address to parliament was one of the first times the Ukrainian commander-in-chief used the word “invasion” to refer to Russia’s assault since the start of the war, in which the United Nations has said more than 6,400 people have been killed.

“A colossal threat of renewal of full-scale military actions by the Russian terrorist groups remains. Now on the territory of Ukraine there are 14 Russian tactical groups with total number of personnel exceeding 9,000 servicemen. Concentration of the Russian servicemen near the state border is bigger by half than a year ago,” Poroshenko said. “The military must be ready as much for a renewal of an offensive by the enemy in the Donbas as they are for a full-scale invasion along the whole length of the border with Russia. We must be truly ready for this.”

Despite Moscow’s claims to the contrary, Russian mercenaries in the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-15 are backed by thousands of regular Russian soldiers, which has been substantiated not only by Ukrainian government and military officials but also by NATO, the United Nations and even careless, boastful Russian troops. Certainly, the smoking gun has been Russian soldiers taken prisoner on Ukrainian territory and those convalescing in Ukrainian hospitals.

Fortunately for Ukraine, Poroshenko said Ukrainian forces successfully mopped up in Maryinka after repelling the rebel attack. He said Ukrainian soldiers ousted pro-Russia terrorists from that eastern town and captured 12 saboteurs, including one Russian. Ukrainian armed forces and the volunteer battalions have again proven their military skills, dedication, heroism and patriotism – features the Russian invaders lack.  

London’s Daily Mail confirmed Poroshenko’s statement by reporting that Ukrainian troops thwarted pro-Russian separatists’ attempt to take Maryinka as they fought their first serious battles in months.

The White House said President Obama spoke with Poroshenko last Friday about the war in Ukraine and both leaders expressed their “deep concern” about fighting near Donetsk and urged rebels to respect the Minsk ceasefire. Beyond listening and expressing concern, Obama is not prepared to offer greater aid to Ukraine.

Russia’s escalation of the 15-month unprovoked war with Ukraine threatens global peace and stability though not all world leaders are brave enough to admit it.

US officials have acknowledged that economic sanctions haven’t forced Putin to change his militant policies regarding Ukraine, and they voiced concerns about an increase in violence in Ukraine and the use of heavy weaponry that was restricted by the cease-fire deal.

“It’s clear the sanctions are working on the Russian economy, but what is not apparent is that that effect on his economy is deterring Putin from following the course that was evidenced in Crimea last year,” said Defense Secretary Ash Carter, noting that Russian aggression would be “an enduring challenge.”

Carter is one of the more vocal supporters of a hardline approach to dealing with Moscow because of its war against Ukraine. He has urged the US to increase the number of military exercises and training programs across Europe and strengthen NATO’s intelligence sharing to better counter Russian aggression in the region.

Carter also said the US and others are worried Putin would use similar tactics elsewhere in the region and is positioning Russia as a US adversary. That is a likely scenario given Russia’s hostility and the former captive nations’ preparations.

“There are other things we need to be doing in recognition of the fact that, at the moment at least, Vladimir Putin does not seem to be reversing course,” Carter told reporters. “Therefore we need to adapt, in a long-term sense, to that reality.”

Unfortunately, adapting to that reality means learning to live with it rather than working to change Putin and Russia.

Many in Congress also support a hardline position vis-à-vis Russia and helping Ukraine with additional aid. Among them is Sen. Bob Portman (R-OH), who recently returned from a fact-finding trip to Ukraine. Writing in The Cleveland Plain Dealer on May 31, Portman urged NATO to step up and help Ukraine. Without this aid, Ukraine will not be able to stave off Russian aggression and embark on a national course to democracy, wellbeing and national sovereignty.

Portman wrote: “Ukrainians have made incredible sacrifices in the hopes of securing a democratic future but they need sustained economic, political, and military support from the United States and NATO to ensure a successful future.

“They have also made an unequivocal choice to pursue a pro-Western, democratic path, and are making progress in fighting decades of corruption that left Ukraine weak, while dealing with a blatant Russian invasion. Successful follow-through on these reforms will be essential to the long-term success and prosperity of Ukraine.”

He concluded: “Our efforts must be part of a broader strategy to support regional allies and deter Russian aggression. We must demonstrate America's commitment to the security of our friends through a reinforced NATO presence in Eastern Europe and more vigorous engagement in training and security cooperation. President Putin's actions upend decades of established international norms and the response demonstrates the weakness of the Western alliance and America's leadership.

“Confidence in America and our European allies' commitment to uphold these norms deters bad actors and incentivizes other countries to play by the rules. If our credibility is in doubt, the chance for violence and instability increases. Nearly every Ukrainian official I met with understood this. It's time the White House did as well.”

That’s why the G-7 meeting underway in Germany is vital to Ukraine’s independence and future. Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a leading champion in Ukraine’s corner. He is bravely urging his G-7 leaders to ban Russia from returning to their ranks at least while it’s waging war against Ukraine. Canada is also giving financial assistance to Ukraine to help it build its struggling economy, which has been beset by corruption. Canada's help includes $202 million in development assistance and $400 million in low-interest loans.

Harper told Poroshenko on Saturday that Canada will make Ukraine’s case at the G-7 summit in the Bavarian Alps.

“While Ukraine may not have a seat at the table, I can assure you, Mr. President, the situation will be very high on Canada’s agenda,” Harper said with Poroshenko at his side.

Ukraine has made no secret of its urgent desire for weapons to fight the Russian terrorists as well as Russian troops equipped with their latest armament. While there has been some talk about this request in G-7 circles, Harper was quoted as saying that he has made it clear that Ottawa was not yet willing to send Ukraine weapons but would continue to assist the Ukrainian forces in other ways.

“We supply a range of non-lethal military equipment,” Harper said. “We would only go beyond that in concert with our allies and that are matters on which we have an ongoing dialogue.”

While disappointed about this, Poroshenko praised Canada for supporting Ukraine since “the first hours” of his presidency and said the military aid it had provided to his country, such as medical kits and mobile hospitals, “addressed an acute problem.”

Poroshenko characterized his talks with Harper as “effective and very relevant” and said the Canadian leader had become locally famous for his remark earlier in the week that Russia needs to “get out of Ukraine.”

All G-7 leaders must stand shoulder to shoulder with Poroshenko and reiterate Harper’s thoughts so Putin is not mistaken about their meaning.

Indeed, today’s free world would probably reject any suggestion of sending their armies into Ukraine to help expel and defeat the Russian invaders. However, the G-7 leaders can launch a political and economic D-Day against Russia for violating international laws, invading a peaceful neighbor and committing crimes against humanity not less abhorrent that those of Nazi Germany.

For the good of global peace and stability and their own integrity and righteousness, the G-7 leaders must emerge from their summit with a single-minded, forceful commitment to present Russia with the option of unconditionally withdrawing from Ukraine and returning to good graces of international community or being banned forever. Moscow must understand that its brand of international lawlessness will not be endured.

Human Rights Continue to Suffer under Russia

Russia’s war with Ukraine has reminded the free world of the reality of Moscow’s continuing abhorrent record of human rights violations. Except for a brief lull during the transition from a communist Russia to a federal Russia under the late President Boris Yeltsin, the world’s media has not been exposed to such a steady stream of news about the Kremlin tightening the screws around the Russian people, media and civil society – the backbone of a democratic country.

The denial of human rights has reached such an abysmal level that even longtime apologist for Soviet human rights violations, Vladimir Pozner, has finally admitted that the media in Russia is no longer independent.

Human rights activists and oppositionists such a Boris Nemtsov and Valeriya Novodvorskaya have been eliminated without any attempt to conceal the officially sanctioned crimes. Those who remain alive are hounded by the secret police, regular cops and thugs from the Caucasus.

Last week, Russia’s lower house of parliament gave final approval to a bill about what constitutes an “undesirable organization.” Supporters of the work of NGOs – nongovernmental organizations – say this legislation will be a new blow to a nongovernmental community that already has been facing considerable pressure since Vladimir Putin solidified his control over Russia. This civil crime should be the top action item on the agenda of every NGO associated with UN agencies, programs or departments.

The heavily pro-Kremlin State Duma overwhelmingly approved the legislation, which would give Russian prosecutors the right to list as undesirable foreign organizations “posing a threat to Russia’s defense capabilities, security, public order, [or] public health” – a catchall category which will allow Putin to outlaw any NGO he deems critical of his internal and external policies including Russia’s war with Ukraine. It must now be approved by the upper house in what practice suggests will be little more than a formality, and then sent to Putin, who will surely sign it into law.

Under the bill, which even the Kremlin’s own human rights ombudsman has opposed, individuals who work for such organizations inside Russia could be slapped with hefty fines or handed prison sentences of up to six years.

Human rights watchdogs – such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International – have condemned the legislation.

Tanya Lokshina, Russia program director and senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the bill will have a widespread impact. “This law may very seriously complicate our work in Russia,” she told Voice of America’s Russian Service.

“It is targeted against Russian partners, Russian civil society activists and organizations, Russian citizens. The authorities don’t need to provide any special justifications to blacklist anybody – they don’t need any legal crutches. This law is an assault on Russian citizens and civil society and the intent of the authorities is to deprive the civil society of the breathing space to put it into a vacuum, cut it from international networks and partners.”

Sergei Nikitin, Amnesty International’s Moscow director, told the US broadcaster that the law will make it difficult for Russians to have contacts with foreigners on human rights matters, which harkens back to the days of USSR, when meetings between reporters and dissidents landed both in prison.

“The foreign organizations are easy to close,” he observed. “But if it’s done, any contact of the Russian human rights activist or Russian NGO with the ‘undesirable organization,’ which headquarters are outside of Russia, would be considered a violation of this law, which, in our view, is very dangerous.”

Already in 2012, Russia had passed legislation that grants broad leeway for authorities to define nongovernmental groups that receive foreign funding as “foreign agents” and being such means being a spy.

According to Interfax, Russian offices of international human rights organizations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, said they will not adjust their activity under the Russian law on unwelcome organizations. “It is not planned to change the work of the Amnesty International office in Russia in the context of the new law,” Nikitin was quoted as saying.

Human Rights Watch observed on its website: “In 2012 Russia’s parliament adopted a law that required nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to register as ‘foreign agents’ with the Ministry of Justice if they engage in ‘political activity’ and receive foreign funding. The definition of ‘political activity’ under the law is so broad and vague that it can extend to all aspects of advocacy and human rights work.

“Initially, the law required all respective NGOs to request the Ministry to have them registered and implied legal consequences for failure to do so. Because in Russia ‘foreign agent’ can be interpreted only as ‘spy’ or ‘traitor,’ there is little doubt that the law aims to demonize and marginalize independent advocacy groups. Russia’s vibrant human rights groups resolutely boycotted the law, calling it ‘unjust’ and ‘slanderous.’”

Moscow’s onslaught against the last vestiges of democracy in Russia also targets Twitter, Facebook and Google for apparently fostering subversion. In a letter to executives on Monday, May 20, the director of the Russian communications oversight agency warned that the three US companies could face sanctions if they continued alleged illegal activities in Russia, Izvestia newspaper reported last week.

The agency’s deputy director, Maksim Ksenzov, had issued a warning to the three companies on May 6, telling them they were in violation of the bloggers law because they had not provided requested data on the number of daily visitors to several users’ pages, as well as information allowing the authorities to identify the owners of accounts with more than 3,000 daily visitors.

If the companies do not take steps to delete from their sites “information containing calls to participate in mass rioting, extremist activities” or unsanctioned public events, the watchdog would “limit access to the information resource where that information is posted,” Ksenzov warned.

Since the start of Putin’s third term in 2012, the Kremlin has launched a crackdown on the Internet in Russia, passing laws that give state supervisory bodies wide-ranging powers to regulate and block websites thereby stifling freedom of expression.

Russia’s war against human rights also entered Ukraine on the bayonets of its invading armies. A law was recently implemented in the Russian occupied eastern Ukrainian oblast, called the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) that allows prosecution against journalists for “abusing their rights” or for doing jobs that are protected and commonplace in a democratic society.

In occupied Crimea, the first Ukrainian region to be invaded and seized by Russia, a range of Ukrainian and Crimean cultural expressions are now banned.

“A flash mob to mark Ukrainian Embroidery Day in Russian-occupied Crimea on Thursday (May 21) resulted in four Ukrainian activists and three TV Inter journalists being detained, interrogated for five hours and having their fingerprints taken.  When asked why the fingerprints were needed, the officers replied that this is in case ‘something happens to you tomorrow.  Headless bodies get found here,’ wrote Halya Coynash on the website of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group.

“With three Ukrainian activists and a number of young Crimean men still missing after being abducted and / or disappearing without trace since Russia annexed Crimea, the threat contained in the words was clear.  Leonid Kuzmin and other activists from the newly created Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Crimea have heard similarly menacing remarks before.  They have also experienced similar forms of harassment, with each heavy-handed measure by the police more absurd than the last.”

In Crimea, human rights abuses extend to all religious denominations, expect the Russian Orthodox Church. A recent article in Foreign Affairs revealed: “Once Russia took military control, it ordered all of Crimea’s 1,500 religious groups to register with Moscow in order to gain Russian legal operating status. Russian officials are permitted to make lengthy requests for comprehensive information, so the registration process can be onerous and costly. And the stakes for registration are high: Unregistered groups lack the status to open bank accounts, own property, issue invitations to foreign guests, and publish literature.

“Moscow is applying all of its restrictive laws in Crimea, including its anti-extremism law, which defines extremism as merely asserting the superiority of one’s religious beliefs and does not require the threat or use of violence for prosecution. This law, which USCIRF, the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, and other organizations have repeatedly called on Moscow to reform, remains a major threat to religious freedom in Russia. And now it has come to Crimea, and Kremlin-installed local authorities are using it to persecute religious minorities.”

The writers concluded: “What is happening in Crimea today bodes ill for eastern Ukraine. In the Donbas region, which Russian-backed separatists already control, a 4,000-man group known as the Russian Orthodox Army, which was headed by a former Russian military intelligence officer, reportedly has been attacking Protestant and Kyiv Patriarchate communities and confiscating their property.

“There is no question that Russia bears the responsibility. It instituted discriminatory laws at home, and those spread to Crimea. The question is what can be done about the problem. Certainly the international community should continue to demand that Russia withdraw from Ukraine. It also must renew its calls on Moscow to reform its anti-extremism law, and to stop using it to harass religious minorities and the Moscow Patriarchate’s Orthodox rivals.”

Human rights abuses also extend to the battlefield of eastern Ukraine. Amnesty International reported last week that Russian terrorists and Ukrainian forces torture their prisoners. Amnesty said in a statement that it has heard from former captives of both Ukrainian government and Russian mercenaries who said they faced savage beatings, torture with electric shocks, kicking and stabbings – with specifying which group committed which crimes.

“The situation on the separatist side is particularly chaotic, with a variety of different groups holding captives in at least a dozen known locations,” Amnesty said.

Fortunately, Ukrainian officials did not turn a deaf ear to this accusations. Markiian Lubkivskyi, adviser to the Head of the Security Service posted on his Facebook that Security Service Head Valentyn Nalyvaichenko has met to discuss this situation with Tetiana Mazur, executive director of Amnesty International Ukraine. According to Lubkivskyi, Nalyvaichenko said the Security Service is ready to provide AI with all the information it has on crimes against humanity, human rights violation, on tortures and humiliations in particular, in the occupied Crimea and in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by the fighters and Russian citizens, especially the servicemen of the Russian army.
Furthermore, Lubkivskyi wrote, the Security Service together with the military prosecutor’s office are ready to properly investigate each of the human rights abuse cases mentioned in the AI report in order to find out all the facts and establish the truth. For that purpose Nalyvaichenko asked T. Masur to give his office the statements on the abuse cases that were found so that they could perform a thorough investigation.

Russia has again called the world’s attention to its human rights violations in the region for the former captive nations. However you analyze current events in the post-USSR sphere, the threats against innocent and peaceful populations are result of Russia’s imperial, belligerent and criminal behavior.

Armine Sahakyan, a human rights activist based in Armenia, observed in the Kyiv Post: “None of the human-rights abuses in Crimea could have happened without Russian military involvement. And there would have been far fewer abuses in eastern Ukraine if Russian troops had not intervened there. The array of abuses in the two areas has been mind-boggling — summary executions, repression of opposition figures, journalists and minorities, confiscation of property, and on and on.

“Russia’s neighbors would agree that some Russian exports are worthwhile — vodka, for example. Those neighbors would be much better off without Moscow exporting its human-rights abuses, however.”

The free world – its officialdom and civic activists – suffer from a short attention span syndrome in general and specifically with regards to human rights abuses in and by Russia. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi highlighted Moscow’s blatant human rights abuses of its LGBT population. But, unfortunately, the outcry faded quickly, and nothing has improved for the LGBT community in the country. Instead, the international community’s reactions have switched from indignation to resignation both inside and outside the country while the crackdown against LGBT groups in Russia continues.

Perhaps not since President Jimmy Carter, who in his inaugural address, declared “The world itself is now dominated by a new spirit. Peoples more numerous and more politically aware are craving, and now demanding, their place in the sun--not just for the benefit of their own physical condition, but for basic human rights.” – has the global community had such a clear challenge and opportunity to stand up for the oppressed.

With journalists, faithful, soldiers and civilians, and nongovernmental organizations facing daily threats against their existence by draconian laws sanctioned by an oligarch with his finger on the nuclear trigger, free peoples around the world have an opportunity to oppose those violations and encourage Russians to arise in defense of their rights. If the free world misses this chance again, it must then prepare to defend its democracy against a foreign invader on its territory. Human rights are too precious to be left to the whims of an academic discussion, a political speech, a religious pulpit or a global rostrum. History shows that indignation is volatile for short term while the violations are long term and the struggle painful. For human rights to have a practical and beneficial meaning, people – civil society – the backbone of every democracy must stand up and defend them and oppose the perpetrator.

Ukraine: The Kitty Genovese of Today’s Global Neighborhood

The international community’s reaction to what is happening to Ukraine is incomprehensible. World leaders – the usual motley group of North American, European and Asia ones – have been incapable of doing anything to stop Russia from continuing to ravage Ukraine for the sake of its imperial expansion and to protect Ukraine from Russia’s bloody military advances.

How can this be taking place in the 21st century? Hasn’t anyone read history? Isn’t the conclusion obvious?

As I think about my own questions, my thoughts drift to an event that had its place in the borough of Queens in New York City 51 years ago. A young woman was killed in full view of her neighbors who actually witnessed from the comfort of their high-rise apartment windows what was happening and couldn’t or wouldn’t do anything to stop the assailant or protect the unfortunate woman.

Here is an excerpt from Martin Gansberg’s article in The New York Times of March 27, 1964.

For more than half an hour 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens.

Twice their chatter and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and frightened him off. Each time he returned, sought her out, and stabbed her again. Not one person telephoned the police during the assault; one witness called after the woman was dead…

Twenty-eight-year-old Catherine Genovese, who was called Kitty by almost everyone in the neighborhood, was returning home from her job as manager of a bar in Hollis…

The entrance to the apartment is in the rear of the building because the front is rented to retail stores. At night the quiet neighborhood is shrouded in the slumbering darkness that marks most residential areas.

Miss Genovese noticed a man at the far end of the lot, near a seven-story apartment house at 82-40 Austin Street. She halted. Then, nervously, she headed up Austin Street toward Lefferts Boulevard, where there is a call box to the 102nd Police Precinct in nearby Richmond Hill.

She got as far as a street light in front of a bookstore before the man grabbed her. She screamed. Lights went on in the 10-story apartment house at 82-67 Austin Street, which faces the bookstore. Windows slid open and voices punctuated the early-morning stillness.

Miss Genovese screamed: “Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me! Please help me!”…

The assailant stabbed her again.

“I'm dying!” she shrieked. “I’m dying!”…

Gansberg concluded his article by writing: “It was 4:25 A.M. when the ambulance arrived to take the body of Miss Genovese. It drove off. “Then,” a solemn police detective said, “the people came out.”

Kitty’s neighbors offered a variety of excuses why they allowed her to be killed in their voyeuristic presence.

“I didn’t want to get involved.”

“We thought it was a lovers’ quarrel.”

“I didn't want my husband to get involved.”

“We went to the window to see what was happening … but the light from our bedroom made it difficult to see the street … I put out the light and we were able to see better.” Asked why they didn’t call the police, the wife shrugged and replied: “I don't know.”

“I was tired."

“I went back to bed."

On a personal level, the murder of Kitty Genovese and the callous disregard for her life by her neighbors was devastating and inhuman.

On a national level, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the indiscriminate killing of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers along with the callous disregard for what is happening there by countries near and far is also devastating and inhuman. The UN says more than 6,000 civilians have died because of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

On a global scale, thanks to all sorts of technological advances, Russia’s undeclared war against Ukraine is being witnessed by the same callous, immovable, unconcerned, indifferent neighbors who witnessed Kitty’s murder five decades ago. Their apathetic explanations are identical to those who saw Kitty killed in cold blood.

While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was undeclared and unexpected, the subsequent occupation of Crimea and Donbas, and Moscow’s advances westward did not occur without some sort of spy in the sky warnings. Especially in the past several weeks Ukrainian and NATO military and political sources have been daily cautioning that Russia is amassing tens of thousands of soldiers on its border with Ukraine in preparation for a significant escalation of hostilities. Do something before it’s too late, they plead.

Moscow’s occupation of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk has also scared the other Eastern European former captive nations into reviewing its defense capabilities and seeking military help from NATO.

Last month Viktor Muzhenko, Ukraine’s army chief of staff, listed for the first time some of the specific Russian military units fighting in Ukraine alongside Moscow’s terrorists in eastern Ukraine.

“Regular Russian army troops are still in Ukraine,” Muzhenko said for all the world to hear. “We have details of all the Russian units, where they are deployed, their numbers and their weapons.”

Muzhenko named among them the Russian army’s 15th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the 8th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the 331st Airborne Regiment and the 98th Airborne Division.

Just like murdered Russian journalist Boris Nemtsov, the Ukrainian official said Kyiv has proof that Russian regular troops had fought in three clashes in the east in February, including a fierce battle for the railroad town of Debaltseve, which is now controlled by Russian mercenaries.

Russian-backed militants have dramatically also increased their activity in the Donbas conflict zone, head of the Information Resistance group and military blogger Dmytro Tymchuk wrote on his Facebook page. According to Tymchuk, the militants fired artillery and 120mm mortars, and tried to attack the Ukrainian units, including using armored vehicles. A sharp growth of militant activity has been recorded in the Luhansk, Donetsk and in coastal areas, he said.

The Russian terrorists in the Donbas region in early April were to have almost 700 tanks and 1,100 armored combat vehicles, according to the report of deputy commander of the ATO Valentyn Fedichev from the information center of the Donetsk regional military and civil administration in Kramatorsk, reported Express TV.

“According to the Minsk agreements, the 9,000 servicemen of the Russian regular armed forces must leave the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and all military equipment that has been illegally transferred by Russia to the territory of a sovereign state, and this is almost 700 tanks, more than 1,100 armored combat vehicles, nearly 600 artillery systems, more than 380 MLRS and 110 air defense systems, must be withdrawn," Fedichev said.

They didn’t while, according to him, on April 7, 40 items of military equipment, including 10 tanks, arrived in Luhansk. On April 6, two companies of Russian troops arrived in the area of Debaltseve in Donetsk region.

"In [Russia’s] Rostov region training is being conducted on combat operations performance in the city. More than 1,500 troops of the special forces of the Russian Federation Armed Forces are involved in the exercises," Fedichev said.
US military sources have corroborated Ukrainian’s justified fears.

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, former head of US and NATO forces in Europe, warned at an exclusive briefing with the Atlantic Council that a renewed Russian offensive in Ukraine was imminent and would most probably take place between Orthodox Easter on April 12 and Russia’s celebrations of VE Day on May 8. While both dates have come and gone, Russia’s escalation is still held at bay for reasons which may be simple as the army isn’t ready to attack.

“Ukrainian forces expect attack within the next sixty days,” Clark recently wrote for the Atlantic Council. “This assessment is based on geographic imperatives, the ongoing pattern of Russian activity, and an analysis of Russian actions, statements, and Putin’s psychology to date.”

Clark was joined by the top US commander for NATO who urged that America needs better intelligence on the ground in Ukraine, and added that it appears Russian forces have used a recent lull in fighting to reposition for another offensive.

Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander of NATO forces in Europe, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, who has expressed concern about Russia’s aggression, said the situation in Ukraine is volatile and fragile and urged Congress to bolster U.S. intelligence capabilities to better understand Putin’s intent in the region.

“Russian military operations over the past year in Ukraine, and the region more broadly, have underscored that there are critical gaps in our collection and analysis,” Breedlove said. “Some Russian military exercises have caught us by surprise and our textured feel for Russian involvement on the ground in Ukraine has been quite limited.”

This movement of invaders is obviously directed by Russians, Breedlove assured. “We do see a very distinct Russian set of command and control in the eastern part of Ukraine,” he said. "Command-and-control, air defense, support to artillery, all of these things increased ... making a more coherent, organized force out of the separatists.”

In one 48-hour period in April, as Ukrainian forces faced 20 attacks by Russian-led militants and spotted 30 enemy drones probing their positions, the Frankurter Allgemeine Zeitung quoted an unnamed NATO official saying that Russia has sent additional military manpower and arms to Donbas.

“We have noticed again support for the separatists, with weapons, troops and training. Russia is still sending troops and arms from one side of the open border with Ukraine to the other,” the NATO official told the German news publication.

The press center of Ukraine’s Anti-Terrorist Operation headquarters has been regularly reporting that Russian-backed militants have been violating the terms of the Minsk agreement, attacking Ukrainian forces with weapons they were supposed to have withdrawn from the front line. Russia began violating the truce before the ink dried on the agreements.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reported a sizeable Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine that he said would enable pro-Moscow separatists to launch a new offensive with little warning. Stoltenberg said Russia has substantially stepped up supplies to the rebels, as well as providing them with advanced training and equipment like drones, despite a cease-fire.

Stoltenberg said the Russian moves undermine the cease-fire declared in eastern Ukraine and violate the Minsk agreements entered into by Moscow. He said more than 1,000 pieces of Russian military equipment have been moved over the past month, including tanks, artillery and air defense units.

Stoltenberg said this “gives reason for great concern” and would enable the separatists to go on the offensive again with little warning.

The list of officials exposing Russia’s impending military escalation against Ukraine includes John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine. He said recent military moves by Russia show that President Putin's “minimal goal is to destabilize the current government” in Ukraine. The maximum goal would probably be to re-subjugate the former captive nations.

Herbst, who now directs the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, said from Kyiv that “Putin is ramping up pressure on Ukraine by adding troops on the eastern border and in Crimea and by increasing the violations across the ceasefire line and in order to do that, he can’t simply sit behind the ceasefire line.  He needs to move forward to cause additional instability in the country.”

Ukraine has repeatedly urged its neighbors and allies to send it weapons and accused rebels of persistent ceasefire violations as NATO warned about an increase in Russian troop movement both near and across the border.

“The Ukrainian army needs weapons to defend Ukraine,” Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told parliamentarians. “And our western partners must hear: Now the Ukrainian army is struggling not just for itself, but we are fighting for peace and stability in the EU.”

But Ukraine’s nearest neighbors have turned a deaf ear. EU leaders have told Ukraine they are worried about ceasefire violations in the east of the country but will not send armed peacekeepers there. “We can only talk about a civilian mission, not military,” European Council President Donald Tusk said.

President Obama, at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe in Washington, demonstrated understanding the global threat posed by Russia’s belligerence.  Obama said the acts of Russian aggression against Ukraine are a threat to the world that must be confronted in a global context,

“We oppose the Russian aggression against Ukraine, provide assistance to civilians under threat of the Islamic State extremist group, fight against the Ebola virus and promote global health, and now we’re offering assistance to the people of Nepal,” Obama said.
Despite these words and as increased Russian fighting on the ground in eastern Ukraine continues to claim innocent lives and disrupt regional peace and stability, members of the U.S. Congress once again are pressing Obama to request lethal military aid for Ukraine to combat Russian-backed rebels. The president already has ignored a resolution urging lethal US aid for Ukraine that the House passed by 348 to 48 votes. Consequently, the US President joins the neighbors who pulled down the window shades as the knife plunged into the innocent passerby.

“There is no doubt that it is important to provide humanitarian assistance to the population that is affected by the fighting. However, this aid only treats the symptoms of a larger problem,” read the statement by Reps. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Sander Levin (D-MI), and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH). “The Ukrainian government is in dire need of defensive weapons, which are necessary to protect its borders and sovereignty.”

Pro-Russian separatists appear to be making preparations for a fresh offensive in eastern Ukraine, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told lawmakers. “It does appear that clearly, Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine are preparing for another round of military action that would be inconsistent with the Minsk agreement,” Carter told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee.

Ukrainian President Poroshenko said the threat of a large-scale offensive from the side of Russian-backed militants has been growing, and the strength of the enemy’s troops is estimated at 40,000 men, while another 50,000 servicemen are deployed along the border with Ukraine.

Even with this imminent threat, Poroshenko said that Ukrainians ready to defend country and that the morale of the Ukrainian armed forces is currently at its best, as has been the case in recent history.

“We keep getting more evidence and information proving that the aggressor will commence a military offensive in the second half of May. I don’t want to frighten anyone, and you should know that the country is capable of protecting its citizens,” he said.

Poroshenko emphasized that the war will be over when Donbas and Crimea are returned to Ukraine. Nothing more, nothing less. That is the line in the sand, which must be recognized by friends and foes.

In the meantime, Ukrainian servicemen step up the pace of digging trenches on a beach in the port city of Mariupol, about eight miles from Shyrokyne, on the Azov Sea, where the next Russian onslaught is anticipated.

The global neighborhood must consider what will be its steps when they hear: “Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me! Please help me!”… “I'm dying!”

Ukraine’s Laudable Nuclear Policy & Russia’s Attempt to Kill NPT

Without overstating the case, in two dozen years since declaring its independence from Soviet Russian captivity, Ukraine has managed to create an enviable national nuclear culture worthy of emulation by countries that have nuclear weapons, those that don’t and those who would like to construct these weapons of mass destruction.

As a captive nation, without sovereign rights, in 1991 Ukraine found itself in possession of the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal, consisting of 176 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers with some 1,240 warheads on its territory. 

Rather than using these extremely deadly weapons as bargaining chips to blackmail Washington, Moscow or other capitals or even sell to any fanatical terrorist organization, Ukraine did the unthinkable by giving them away. On May 13, 1994, the United States and Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Transfer of Missile Equipment and Technology.

But surrendering Ukraine’s nuclear stockpile did have one prerequisite. The free world and Russia agreed to guarantee Ukraine’s territorial integrity in a document that was known as the Budapest Memorandum.

Ukraine’s foresightedness created a precedent that could have paved the way for the realization of mankind’s dream of genuine global peace, stability and security. Countries large and small could have been convinced to follow Ukraine’s path and stop dreaming of their own nuclear stockpiles. But Russia’s penchant for aggression and imperial adventurism was not to be contained and it launched a war against its former captive nation, invaded Ukraine, and seized Crimea and two eastern oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk. After 15 months the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-15 has not abated and upwards of 6,000 civilians have lost their lives at the hands of Russian soldiers and mercenary terrorists.

Imagine if Ukraine had not voluntarily surrendered its nuclear weapons. Would Russia have had the temerity to attack its nuclear power neighbor? Was depriving Ukraine of nuclear weapons part of Russia’s long-term plan to restore the iron curtain and its prison of nations?

Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin was at the United Nations on Thursday, April 29, where he eloquently assured the global community of Ukraine’s unwavering belief in the practical value of the Treaty of the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) but cautioned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine not only threatens the effectiveness of that document but simultaneously global peace, security and stability. Klimkin called on the international community to support Ukraine’s efforts to expel Russia from Ukraine for the good of future generations.

“Ukraine has always been the country with an exceptional role within the Non-proliferation Treaty.

“We started from voluntary refusal from the nuclear weapons in 1994. We passed through gradual elimination of nuclear arsenal inherited from the Soviet Union during all the following years. Finally we have eliminated highly enriched uranium by 2012. With this background Ukraine should have become the model state of the NPT regime.

“Ukraine's nuclear-free success story could become an example to follow. This success could contribute greatly into strengthening of the NPT regime.

“But all those efforts were brought to naught by the Russian aggression against Ukraine,” Klimkin said at the NPT Review Conference at the UN.

However, he said, Russia’s war with Ukraine has threatened global peace and fosters nuclear proliferation. The explicit and implied assurances embedded in the Budapest Memorandum, which he bemoaned were never legalized, were to send a message to all countries hoping to acquire nuclear weapons that there is another option embodied in a sovereign, democratic and prosperous Ukraine integrated in the European and Euro-Atlantic structures and living in peace with its neighbors.

“That positive picture, that message and our vision of global security have been crushed almost overnight by the Russian aggression against Ukraine and its occupation of Crimea,” he said. “The Budapest Memorandum has been blatantly discarded by the country which pledged to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.”

Klimkin explained correctly that some countries and their governments could see that Russia’s occupation of a part of Ukrainian territory and a de facto military aggression by Russia against Ukraine as evidence that international legal instruments are insufficient to ensure territorial integrity and inviolability of state borders. Consequently, they could resolve to develop their own nuclear weapons program in defense against a real or perceived enemy.

This is a “tremendous challenge” to the international nuclear security system based on the NPT, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and the IAEA, he said.

Klimkin noted that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has given rise to voices within Ukraine to resume production of nuclear weapons “as the only means to protect ourselves from any outside aggression.”

“But from the Ukrainian government’s standpoint, this option is not on the table. Hereby we confirm that Ukraine considers the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime and an essential basis for achieving the objectives of nuclear disarmament,” Klimkin vowed.

As a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the foreign minister said, within a year Moscow has turned the Crimean peninsula from a flourishing seaside resort into an economically depressed region with a modern military base ready for the deployment of nuclear weapons.

“The violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by Russia impedes the implementation of the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. Russia seized Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, installations and materials located on the temporarily occupied Ukraine’s Crimea, in particular the Sevastopol National University of Nuclear Energy and Industry, in contradiction to the Agency Statute.

“Russian-backed militants and Russian regular troops made life of industrial Donbas region of Ukraine a nightmare. Since Minsk agreement was reached we witness constant violations of the ceasefire by the Russian-backed militants in the East of Ukraine. In such situation Ukraine is deeply concerned over the nuclear safety of the facilities located in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.

“In this respect, we are looking forward to prompt restoration of Ukrainian control in these regions in accordance with Minsk agreements,” Klimkin said in the hallowed halls of the United Nations.

Klimkin recalled the 70th anniversary of the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this year, adding that Ukraine is suffering “from aggression by nuclear state Russia. I would also like to use this forum to invoke Russia to stop aggression and liberate Ukrainian territories, illegally occupied throughout 2014.”

Klimkin places sole hope on preserving the global nuclear security system squarely on the international community, which “must recognize that Ukraine is the starting point indicating whether NPT regime is or is not capable to stop proliferation of nuclear weapons. Until territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored and the Crimea is liberated we cannot discuss ‘business as usual’ within the NPT.

“We strongly believe that those challenges should find their rightful reflection in the final document of this Conference wherein the UN General Assembly Resolution ‘Territorial Integrity of Ukraine’ is fully considered,” he said.

The basis of nuclear disarmament and security is building confidence in countries sharing borders with nuclear powers that their weapons and the intention to use them will remain under lock and key. With its war against Ukraine, Russia has shattered the confidence not only of Ukraine but of all former captive nations that are consequently quickly rebuilding their conventional military strength to withstand Russia’s aggression against them.

In order to return the global community of independent states to a shared course toward peace, stability and security, the international community, NATO and the UN must join with Ukraine in forcing the expulsion of Russia from Ukraine. Russia’s secure seat on the UN Security Council must also be questioned. Anything short of that will contribute to rising tensions, instability, comprehensive rearmament and militarization, and continuing global armed conflagrations.