Annihilate the Ukrainian Nation, Erase its Heritage

Bombing Ukraine’s cities, factories and countryside, and killing innocent men, women children going about their daily activities is not enough for Russia in its latest war against Ukraine.

Moscow is committed to destroying every shred of memorabilia and physical evidence of the existence of a Ukrainian culture, that predates the ersatz Russian culture thus erasing all indications of the Ukrainians’ millennial presence.

According to a handful of sources, including UNESCO, Russia has been systematically obliterating or stealing everything that testifies to the heritage of the Ukrainian nation especially since the start of this war. As of April 16, 2025, the UN agency has verified damage to 485 sites since February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine – 149 religious sites, 257 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 34 museums, 33 monuments, 18 libraries, one archive and two archaeological sites.

Russian dictator Putin, who is known for his frequent false declarations about Ukraine’s history, and other representatives of the Russia have disputed that Ukraine is a sovereign nation. Ukraine’s churches, museums and libraries are a threat to Russia, for they are the material and symbolic fabric that holds together Ukrainian identity and resistance, and prove the nation’s longevity.

The Kyiv Post reported last week that Ukraine’s intelligence directorate said 360,000 items were stolen from occupied Kherson alone – in a bid to erase the country’s national memory.

Since 2014, over five million documents belonging to Ukraine’s National Archival Fund (NAF) have fallen under Russian control following the temporary occupation of parts of Ukraine, including Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson regions.

Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) and the State Archival Service said a significant portion of these documents was illegally removed and integrated into Russia’s archival infrastructure.

The Kyiv Post reported that in newly released findings published on the War & Sanctions platform, HUR and the State Archival Service accuse Russia of violating international humanitarian law, particularly the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. After Kherson’s liberation, investigators confirmed that nearly 360,000 archival items had been looted by occupying forces.

Ukraine has now published the names of individuals and organizations allegedly involved in the illegal transfer and assimilation of stolen archives. Among those named are:

• Andrey Artizov, head of Russia’s Federal Archival Agency

• Oleg Lobov, head of the so-called “State Archival Service of the Republic of Crimea”

• Irina Krasnonos, director of the so-called “Sevastopol City Archive”

• Vitaly Semyonov, founder of the NGO “Archival Watch”

They are employees of the so-called “State Archive of the Republic of Crimea” who participated in the looting of the Kherson regional archives in 2022.

Kyiv officials say these actions are part of a broader effort by the Kremlin to erase Ukraine’s identity, distort historical truth, and obscure evidence of Russian war crimes.

The Embassy of The Netherlands has corroborated this information. “Since Russia’s invasion, the country has been fighting harder than ever to preserve its distinctive culture and cultural heritage. The Netherlands, including the embassy in Kyiv, supports Ukraine in this fight. ‘Russia denies Ukraine’s right to statehood. Everything that embodies Ukrainian identity, from art to language, is being destroyed.’”

The Embassy further noted on its website that “the war has highlighted the importance of culture for Ukrainians, says Yuliia Malynovska, culture policy officer at the Ukrainian embassy in the Netherlands. ‘In Ukraine we seize every opportunity to attend cultural events and enjoy art, literature, film and dance. This helps us feel connected to our identity and offers an escape from the horrors of the war.’”

The Embassy noted that the war with Russia is not just being fought on the front lines. Wild Tjitske Wildervanck, culture policy officer at the Dutch embassy in Kyiv, and Malynovska said that it’s also a culture war. Russia is deliberately attacking cultural targets in an attempt to erase Ukrainian culture and identity. Wildervanck: “A senior Russian official in occupied Zaporizhzhia recently said that it’s time to burn everything Ukrainian down to the root. And anything that isn’t destroyed they want to Russify. They do that by looting museums, but also by banning the Ukrainian language in occupied areas of the country.”

The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture said since the beginning of Russia’s large-scale invasion in February 2022 nearly 1,100 cultural buildings such as churches, theaters, libraries, cultural centers, museums and other symbols of Ukrainian culture have been damaged or destroyed. UNESCO has been able to verify this damage in 432 cases. Consequently, every Russian missile or drone that explodes on Ukrainian land destroys the Ukrainian national genome and national antiquity.

The Embassy further said that among the well-known examples of the attacks are the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, the library in Chernihiv and the Roman Shukhevych Museum in Lviv. In early August it was announced that the Lesia Ukrainka Museum in occupied Crimea, dedicated to the eponymous Ukrainian author and poet, had been completely destroyed. Malynovska also mentioned the frescoed home of artist Polina Rayko in Oleshky, which was a unique piece of Ukrainian heritage. The house was destroyed last year after the Russians blew up the Kakhovka dam.

Russia’s attempts to conquer Ukraine and wipe out Ukrainian culture are not new. Malynovska said: “Russia has been trying to do this for centuries.’ So it’s no accident that Ukraine marks the day it gained its independence, 24 August 1991, with a wide range of cultural events. Ukraine also celebrates those who have given their lives, whether in the past or more recently, for their country’s freedom.”

A report on PBS concurred: “War doesn’t just destroy lives. It also tears at the fabric of culture.

And in the case of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine the remarkable destruction of Ukrainian history and heritage since 2022 hasn’t been a matter of collateral damage. Rather, the Russian military has deliberately targeted museums, churches and libraries that are important to the Ukrainian people.

It’s impossible to document the full extent of the destruction, particularly in the active military zones in eastern and southern Ukraine. However, as archaeologists and filmmakers, we wanted to do what we could. This meant traveling to liberated villages, museums and churches in northern and eastern Ukraine adjacent to regions with ongoing fighting.”

PBS further noted: “Even after the fighting ends, large areas of Ukraine will remain inaccessible for years, given the widespread use of mines and environmental contaminants.

“Surviving collections and museum exhibits inside and outside of Ukraine have assumed greater importance: They may represent the sole evidence of ancient cultures originating from these damaged territories.

“We can confidently say that Europe has not experienced destruction of this magnitude, let alone this quickly, since World War II.

“The bombings of churches, libraries and residences have destroyed major areas of Ukraine. As with the Nazis’ pilfering of paintings, bronze sculptures and art in the last few years of World War II, in the first months after the invasion the Russian army looted museums, stole art and destroyed churches with missiles and tank shells.

“Make no mistake: At its core, the Russian full-scale invasion is a military attempt to erase Ukraine’s history, culture and heritage.”

Therefore, all non-Russians, such as President Trump and his White House officials, who have taken Russia’s side in this war also share this historic guilt.

Innocent Blood Continues to Flow along Ukrainian Streets

Can you imagine the Russian gunner who targeted a civilian bus and purposefully killed nine innocent harmless civilians? 

This is a consistent practice of Russian cutthroats since invading Ukraine in February 2022. Civilians and noncombatant targets are easier to destroy than Ukrainian soldiers, who by all accounts are giving the Russian invaders a helluva difficult time in seizing all of Ukraine in two or three weeks.

The Russian drone hit a bus carrying workers in the Ukrainian city of Marhanets on Wednesday, April 23, three days after Easter, killing nine people and injuring close to 50, Kyiv officials said, in an attack President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was a “deliberate war crime.”

Zelenskyy said the Russian strike hit a bus that was transporting workers of a mining and processing plant.

“An ordinary bus. Clearly a civilian object, a civilian target,” Zelenskiy said on X. “It was an egregiously brutal attack – and an absolutely deliberate war crime,” he added, calling for “an immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire.”

Russia fired a total of 134 attack drones at targets in Ukraine overnight, Kyiv’s air force said. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Moscow did proclaim an Easter truce, but it was largely a lie meant to give the invaders a respite to regroup. Its attacks persisted throughout the holiday weekend.

Marhanets, in south-central Ukraine, lies on the Ukrainian-controlled north bank of the Dnipro river's dried-up reservoir that separates the warring sides.

Zelenskyy shared photographs of the aftermath of the attack on X, showing bodies lying in and next to the bus and being carried away by emergency workers. He added most of the injured were women.

Elsewhere, an energy plant that provides electricity to the city of Kherson near southern front lines was destroyed in an artillery and drone attack, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Ukraine’s emergency service also reported a drone strike on the Synelnykivskyi district in the Dnipropetrovsk region that injured two people and sparked a fire at an agricultural enterprise.

Russia further fired drones into the central region of Poltava, injuring at least six people, its governor said.

A drone attack on civilian infrastructure in the suburbs of the Black Sea port city of Odesa injured two people and sparked several fires, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

Russian drone salvoes also set off large-scale fires in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, in the northeast, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

Seven private houses, a storage building and an outbuilding were also damaged by drones hitting the Kyiv capital region, where a fire also broke out in a restaurant complex, its regional governor said.

How much more innocent Ukrainian blood has to be spilled before President Trump and his entourage of ignorant and callous representatives understand what’s happening in Ukraine and who is the murderous aggressor – Russia.

Russia’s Relentless Bombing and Killing of Ukrainians Persists

Every subsequent Russian bombing and killing of Ukrainian civilians indicates that Moscow isn’t serious about ending the war that it started in 2014 and enflamed in 2022 by invading Ukraine. Its presence at the ill-fated negotiating table is meant to hide its true intentions, which are revealed with every ballistic missile that explodes in the town square or drones that hit apartment buildings.

Russia’s ballistic missile attack yesterday on Palm Sunday against the town of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine caught churchgoers and other townspeople by surprise, killing with one blast more than 30 and injuring 117. The obvious terror of such an assault was surpassed by Moscow’s heinous plan to follow up the first explosion with a second one at the same coordinates after crowds appeared to remove the bodies from the streets and tend to the wounded men, women and children.

European leaders stridently condemned Russia for this attack during a religious holiday, one week before Easter. President Trump by contrast abstained from reproaching the Kremlin leadership for the latest senseless murder of innocent Ukrainian civilians, the target of choice for Russia.

The attack took place just two days after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss peace negotiations. It seems that no American negotiator is an equal to Russian officials who consciously and regularly deceive naïve Washington counterparts.

• “Everyone knows: This war was initiated by Russia alone. And today, it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it — with blatant disregard for human lives, international law, and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.

Macron also called for strong measures to “impose a ceasefire on Russia” and noted that France is working towards that goal with allies.

According to global news reports the tidal wave of denunciations was fierce.

• U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack on civilians. “President Zelenskyy has shown his commitment to peace. Putin must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions,” he wrote on X.

• EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas wrote on X that the attack was “heartbreaking” as citizens gathered for Palm Sunday “only to be met by Russian missiles.”

“Horrific example of Russia intensifying attacks while Ukraine has accepted an unconditional ceasefire," she added, referencing Kyiv's agreement to a full 30-day ceasefire after U.S.-mediated talks in Jeddah on March 11.

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the attack was a “grim reminder” of Russia’s role as the aggressor in the full-scale war against Ukraine.

“Strong measures are urgently needed to enforce a ceasefire,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. “Europe will continue to reach out to partners and maintain strong pressure on Russia until the bloodshed ends and a just and lasting peace is achieved, on Ukraine's terms and conditions.”

• European Council President and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced the strike on Sumy as “horrible and cowardly.”

“I strongly condemn this unacceptable violence, which contradicts any real commitment to peace, promoted by President Trump and supported wholeheartedly by Italy, together with Europe and other international partners,” Meloni said in a statement provided by the Italian Embassy. She pledged to work with allies to “stop this barbarism.”

• The EU’s ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, called the attack on churchgoers during Palm Sunday a “war crime” and said that Europe is “increasing pressure on Russia and supporting Ukraine in every possible way.”

“Nothing seems to be sacred to the Russians — neither churches, nor Ukrainian children,” she added.

• Finnish President Alexander Stubb condemned Russia for “slaughtering innocent civilians in Sumy” and called for increased sanctions against Moscow. “Russia shows that it has no respect for international law or humanitarian law,” he wrote on X. “We must end this war. An unconditional ceasefire must begin at once. To make it commit seriously to negotiations, sanctions against Russia need to be further strengthened.”

• Moldova’s President Maia Sandu called for more air defense for Ukraine and added that Moldova “mourns with Ukraine.” She said that “Palm Sunday is a day of peace,” emphasizing that Russia “must be held accountable” and that “there is no justification for such evil.”

• The leader of the exiled Belarusian opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote on X that “Putin’s regime shows once again that it does not want peace.”

• Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the attack proves that “Russia’s goal is erasing Ukraine.” He stressed that aid to Ukraine cannot be delayed, adding that “no pressure on Russia means no peace.”

These heartening, supportive observations are in stark contrast to Trump’s insultingly blasé and baseless replies to journalists. Never an advocate for Ukraine, Trump brushed off a reporter’s questions by saying that he was told Russia “made a mistake” by attacking Sumy on a holy day.

“I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing. I think, for that war to have started, is an abuse of power. This country would have never allowed that war to have started if I were president. That war is a shame,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. He declined to elaborate.

President Zelenskyy has urged Trump to visit Ukraine to “understand what Putin did.” In a CBS interview broadcast on Sunday, Zelenskyy said: “Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead.”

Echoing comments made years ago by Golda Meier regarding compromising during Israel’s ongoing war with the Arab world, Zelenskyy explained, “You can’t look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim,” he said in an interview that was filmed on last Friday, the day White House envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Russia.

One of the Trump Administration’s latest foolhardy plans to soothe the Russian bear is to partition Ukraine like Germany was at the end of World War Two, thus accepting Putin’s demand of sovereignty over the four eastern Ukrainian oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. This would ultimately be the first step toward the total disappearance of Ukraine as an independent country and the Ukrainian nation as a people. The long, arduous, costly and bloody war to liberate Ukraine from Russian subjugation would have to be repeated.

There is no prospect for a just peace for Ukraine against current and future Russian aggression, one that would see the country victorious and safe within its current borders, while Trump drags
Ukraine down the anti-Ukrainian rabbit hole. Hopefully a united front of European countries – old Europe and former captive nations – can keep the Russian war machine at bay at least as long as Trump is in office.

Zelenskyy Displeased with US Reaction to Killing of Ukrainian Children

Zelenskyy Displeased with US Reaction to Killing of Ukrainian Children

US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wrote in a post to X, "Horrified that tonight a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih. More than 50 people injured and 16 killed, including 6 children. This is why the war must end." 

President Zelenskyy said in a Saturday morning post to Telegram that the American reaction was inadequate. 

"Unfortunately, the reaction of the American Embassy is unpleasantly surprising: such a strong country, such strong people -- and such a weak reaction," he said. "They are even afraid to say the word 'Russian' when talking about the missile that killed children."

Blood and Tears Flowing down the Streets

And another Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities takes its toll in the midst of phony hopes that Putin and Trump can honestly chisel out an agreement to stop the war against Ukraine.

On April 4, as Russia was lying through its teeth about wanting to halt the hostilities, Moscow again launched a ballistic missile attack on a residential area in Kryvyi Rih, President Zelenskyy’s hometown, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing at least 16 people, including nine children, and injuring more than 50, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. In Russians’ warped minds, the children were apparently regarded as enemy combatants as they were playing on a strategic playground next to their apartment building. Playgrounds are repeat targets for Russian gunners. It surely takes a demonic, depraved lack of humanity not to ensure that at least children do not fall in harm’s way as Russia fulfills its manifest destiny to kill as many civilians as possible.

Mothers cried over the bodies of their children and children mourned their dead mothers.

That same day, Russia launched an overnight barrage of drones on eastern city of Kharkiv that killed at least four people and injured 35 civilians in a residential area of Ukraine’s second-largest city.

Ukrainian officials, among them President Zelenskyy, have observed that every Russian missile or drone that strikes Ukraine means that Moscow and Putin have no real intention of stopping hostilities and ending the war and leaving Ukraine. Their pledges are pablum for American consumption.

For a clearer image of the extent of Russian duplicity and lies about its intentions for peace, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN prepared a detailed list of the Russia’s bombings and murder of Ukrainians in the month of March. As Moscow continued to feign a desire for peace, it mercilessly bombed Ukrainian targets and civilians. Here is the complete statement by Chargée d’Affaires Khrystyna Hayovyshyn at the Security Council “Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” on March 26, 2025:

Madam President, 

I would like to thank Denmark’s Presidency for convening this meeting.

I am also grateful to Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya for her substantive briefing.

The Russian Federation continues to terrorize Ukrainian civilians by relentlessly striking critical infrastructure and residential areas across the country with missiles, MLRS, guided bombs, and attack drones – causing widespread death and destruction.

Frontline and border regions, particularly Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Kharkiv, remain under constant Russian attack.

Distinguished members of the Security Council, we should focus on Russian actions and not their statements. And their actions are the following.

On the night of March 1, 2025, the Russian Federation launched at least nine Shahed drones on Kharkiv, damaging a hospital with patients inside and injuring at least seven.

On the night of 3 March 3, Russian attack on an Ecopark near Kharkiv destroyed animal enclosures, a medical center, and a mother-and-child house. The same day, airstrikes on Omelnyk (Zaporizhzhia) destroyed a home, killing one and injuring another. On March 4, a drone strike on Sumy caused a fire in a children’s medical facility.

On March 5, a ballistic missile struck a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, killing at least 4 and injuring 32, including two children. Damage included 14 apartment buildings, a post office, cultural center, shops, and vehicles.

On March 7, a massive Russian assault on energy infrastructure hit multiple regions across Ukraine: Odesa, Poltava, Chernihiv, Ternopil, using nearly 70 missiles and 200 drones. In Kharkiv, a missile injured civilians near an apartment building.

That same day at night, the Russian Federation launched а ballistic missile attack on the center of Dobropillia, Donetsk region, killing at least 11 people and injuring 50 others, including seven children. As firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze, Russian forces carried out а second strike, targeting the rescuers.

On March 11, Russian drones damaged an infrastructure facility in Dnipro, about 10 private houses and broke windows in a kindergarten and a school.

On March 12, Russia launched ballistic missiles at Kryvyi Rih, killing 1 person and injuring 15. Russia launched a double-tap strike on rescuers and medics who arrived at the scene. The strike damaged an infrastructure facility, multi-story residential buildings, administrative buildings, a shop, garages, 12 cars and 2 units of rescue equipment.

On March 13, Russians massively attacked Kherson with artillery, killing a woman and injuring a man. The same day, critical infrastructure facilities in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions were attacked.

On March 14, Russians attacked a hospital in Zolochiv, Kharkiv region, with drones. A double-tap attack was carried out in 40 minutes after the first strike.

On March 14 Russian troops attacked the center of Kherson with guided aerial bombs, killing 1 and injuring 7 civilians.

On March 15, an attack drone damaged 65 apartments in a multi-story building, 12 private houses and 19 cars in one of Chernihiv's neighborhoods.

On March 16, an attack drone hit a multi-story building in Chernihiv, injuring a woman.

On March 21, the Russian Federation launched a drone attack on Zaporizhzhia, killing a family – a 17-year-old girl, her father and mother. The attack injured at least 14 people, including a nine-month-old baby. The drone strikes caused fires and widespread destruction in Zaporizhzhia.

Overnight on March 23, Russia attacked residential areas of Ukraine using nearly 150 strike drones. Russia’s massive drone attack on Kyiv and the Kyiv region killed at least three people, including a father and his five-year-old daughter, and injured 10 others, including an 11-month-old baby. This attack damaged apartment buildings, private houses and cars.

On March 24, the Russian Federation launched a missile strike on the city center of Sumy, injuring at least 88 people, including 17 children, and damaging several high-rise residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, including a school.

The same day, Russia launched its third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv.

March 25 – the Russian forces struck a residential area in the village of Kurtivka, Donetsk region, with a FAB-250 bomb, killing a 36-year-old mother and her 3-year-old daughter, and injuring her 15-year-old daughter, who was hospitalized. The family was at a playground when the strike hit them.

Last night, Russia launched 117 strike drones – mostly Shaheds – against civilians across Ukraine. Dnipro, Sumy, Cherkasy and other regions came under Russian attack. Kryvyi Rih suffered a massive drone strike, targeting a local enterprise and the civilian infrastructure. In Okhtyrka, Sumy region, homes, stores and the civilian infrastructure were damaged. Communities in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions also came under fire. It was another night of Russian terror targeting Ukrainian civilians.

These attacks are a daily reality. In just the first half of March alone, the Russian Federation launched hundreds of strikes against the Ukrainian people, using approximately 2,800 guided aerial bombs, nearly 2,000 attack drones, and over 100 missiles of various types. Which means that on average, Russia used each day 200 guided aerial bombs, 143 attack drones, and 7 missiles. Every single day!

The Russian Federation must be held accountable for the vast destruction it has inflicted on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. According to Ukrainian law enforcement, over 212,000 civilian sites have been damaged or destroyed – including over 171,000 residential buildings. The attacks have also affected over 1,600 schools, with at least 200 completely destroyed, and nearly 2,000 medical facilities, of which 300 have been reduced to rubble.

Madam President, 

From the very first day of the invasion, Russia has deliberately sought to block Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, directly threatening global food security.

It has consistently targeted southern Ukraine’s port infrastructure, commercial vessels, and grain storage facilities. All this was done to weaken Ukraine’s export capacity and deliberately provoke a food crisis in regions heavily reliant on Ukrainian grain.

On March 1, Russia launched a missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa, injuring two port workers and damaging two civilian vessels – including a Sierra Leone-flagged bulk carrier loaded with over 21,000 tons of corn and soybeans, and a Panama-flagged container ship.

On March 11, a ballistic missile attack on the same port killed four Syrian crew members and injured two others (a Ukrainian and a Syrian). The attack damaged another ship, docks, and grain storage facilities. The vessel targeted was loading wheat for export to Algeria.

Such strikes directly undermine food security in vulnerable regions across the globe. Today, over 40 countries rely on Ukrainian grain exports. These deliberate attacks risk deepening instability in areas already facing food shortages.

Madam President, 

In its latest report the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has further confirmed that the widespread use of torture is not incidental but a deliberate and systematic element of Russian state policy – amounting to crimes against humanity. The report documents ongoing torture of civilians and POWs, inhumane detention conditions, and the use of sexual violence – particularly against male detainees – as a method of torture. It also presents clear evidence of numerous executions of prisoners of war and a disturbing "take no prisoners" policy by the Russian military, in direct and cynical violation of the Geneva Conventions.

The Commission’s efforts to investigate and document Russia’s war crimes are essential to ensuring justice and accountability. We therefore urge continued support for its mandate and the allocation of adequate funding to sustain its work.

Ukraine also welcomes the recent OHCHR thematic report focused on the impact of Russia’s aggression on the rights of Ukrainian children – the first of its kind. The report provides vital, verified evidence of systematic violations, especially in territories temporarily occupied by Russia.

It confirms at least 669 children killed and 1,833 injured due to Russia’s use of explosive weapons in civilian areas, and documents the destruction of schools and hospitals, the militarization of children, forced implementation of Russian curricula, suppression of the Ukrainian language, and persecution of families trying to protect their children’s right to education.

Particularly alarming are the forcible transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus, the illegal change of their citizenship, and efforts to erase their Ukrainian identity.

Ukraine urges all relevant UN mandates to continue their critical monitoring and reporting work. We call on the international community to act on these findings – ensuring accountability and supporting the return of deported children through initiatives such as the Bring Kids Back UA platform and the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

On March 20, we saw one more Kremlin’s decree, which provides for the forced expulsion of Ukrainian citizens living in the temporarily occupied territories and in the territory of Russia, without so-called “legal grounds,” Yet another step in Russia's campaign of discrimination, persecution and forced displacement of Ukrainian citizens from their homeland, or coercion to acquire the status of a foreigner. These systematic deportations and persecutions are part of Russia's policy of genocide against Ukrainian people.

Responsible for the crime of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity must be brought to justice.

We are grateful to all those who contribute to freeing our people from Russian captivity – both military and civilian – as well as to return Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken by the Russians. It remains our priority.

Madam President,

Ukraine began recording episodic cases of the use of dangerous chemical substances by the Russian troops from the beginning of the full-scale invasion in flagrant violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, by using hazardous chemical substances.

According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, from February 2023 to February 2025, there have been recorded and documented over 6,900 cases of Russia’s use of munitions containing hazardous chemicals. Over 3,400 Ukrainian servicemen have been hospitalized with poisoning from chemicals used by the Russians.

The two reports of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons emphasize that the evidence provided by Ukraine has been collected and provided to the OPCW representatives in compliance with the chain-of-custody and relevant procedures. Two independent OPCW designated laboratories have confirmed that the evidence provided by Ukraine contains CS substance, which is a part of riot control agents.

The situation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains critically difficult.

The Russian Federation continues to ignore the UNGA resolution 78/316 “Safety and security of nuclear facilities of Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant” and IAEA General Conference and Board of Governors' resolutions on nuclear safety and security in Ukraine.

The only way to ensure nuclear safety and security is the complete withdrawal of the Russian Federation’s troops and other unauthorized personnel from all ZNPP facilities and the return of the plant to the full sovereign control of Ukraine.

Madam President, 

Ukraine welcomes President Trump’s continued efforts to end Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and restore a just and lasting peace.

We welcome American mediation and the advancing of this process. We are grateful to Saudi Arabia for hospitality and facilitation.

Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.

Ukraine has clearly demonstrated its desire for peace and its readiness to take concrete steps.

But we won`t accept “peace at any price” – as any appeasement of aggressor would only encourage it to continue attacks in the future.

Ukraine has made its three principled positions clear:

1. We will not recognize any temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine as Russian.

2. We will not agree to any foreign diktat regarding the structure, number, and other characteristics of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

3. We will not accept any restrictions on Ukraine's sovereignty, our domestic and foreign policies, including on the choice of alliances that we would like to join.

We have already demonstrated our commitment to give peace a chance – as Ukraine has agreed to the US proposal of an immediate, interim and full 30-day ceasefire. Russia`s refusal to support it is a clear evidence, who is an obstacle to peace.

A crucial aspect of any future peace framework is that a temporary ceasefire does not turn into a frozen conflict. Current ceasefire efforts – the results of the consultations in Riyadh on March 23-25, 2025 – are only a measure that has to lay the foundation for permanent peace.

Ukraine and the United States have agreed to a ceasefire regarding energy facilities. We believe that such a ceasefire took effect at the moment when the relevant statement was published following the Ukrainian-U.S. meeting.

Ukraine and the United States also agreed on a ceasefire in the Black Sea, which applies not only to civilian shipping but also to ports. We believe that the agreement on the sea does not extend to Russian warships. If Russian warships – currently concentrated in the eastern part of the Black Sea – enter our territorial waters, Ukraine will consider this a threat and will exercise its right to self-defense.

We continue working closely with our American and European partners to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace with real security guarantees for our people.

Madam President,

Moscow speaks of peace while launching brutal strikes almost daily on densely populated residential areas in major Ukrainian cities. Instead of making hollow statements about peace, the Russian Federation must stop bombing Ukrainian cities and end its war against civilians.

Everyone should focus on Russian actions, not their statements. The coming days will be critical in determining whether Russia is serious about peace or intends to deceive the United States and the world.

Any diplomacy with Moscow must be backed by sanctions, pressure and increased support for Ukraine.

To push the Russian Federation toward peace, we need strong measures and decisive actions.

We are ready to take the necessary steps toward peace as quickly as possible, together with the United States, Europe and all partners. However, if the Russian Federation continues attacking our energy sector, we will respond. If Russia manipulates the naval ceasefire, we will work with our partners to increase pressure. Our position will remain strong.

Ukraine resists and stands firmly. We will continue to defend ourselves. To sustain this fight against aggression, we need further international support, including in arms.

NATO and the EU are indispensable elements of regional security, and Ukraine is eager to become a part of them – not only as a security recipient but as a security provider.

We must establish a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine based on the principles of the UN Charter and with clear security guarantees.

Thank you.

As Ukraine fights in its defense against the latest Russian onslaught it is also defending its neighbors as well as Western Europeans. Ukraine understands its responsibility to the world. Hopefully the United States will do so as well and not kowtow to Russian murderous purposes.

Thoughts about Odesa: ‘We must overcome betrayal to become independent’

If you’ve been following events about Russia’s bloody war against Ukraine, with its devastating bombardment of civilian targets and infrastructure, then you’d know that promises in the Kremlin are – actually, have always been – rather cheap. They’ll promise one thing, such as stopping destruction of civilian targets only to resume bombing civilian apartment buildings before the ink dries.

This week, in the midst of negotiations and the White House’s delusional belief that Moscow can be believed, Russia attacked Ukraine with 145 drones, two ballistic missiles, and four anti-aircraft missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said. The attacks targeted the Sumy, Odesa, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Chernihiv regions; 72 drones were shot down, the air force said on Wednesday. Then today, at least seven people were killed after Russian launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine.  The attacks, including on the capital, Kyiv, came ahead of ceasefire negotiations. These is the monotonous but deadly repetition of Russia’s attacks against Ukrainian civilians—negotiate, truce, stop attacks, resume attacks, week in, week out.

Russia attacked Ukraine’s historic port city of Odesa during the overnight of March 21, triggering fires as several infrastructure targets were hit as well as a high-rise residential building and shopping center. Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said the drone attack happened while Czech President Petr Pavel was meeting with regional officials in Odesa.

“Significantly, it was during our meeting that the enemy once again massively attacked the Odesa region,” Kiper said in a statement on Telegram.

Pavel said he discussed further direct support for Ukraine during the Odesa meeting.

“I arrived in Odesa, Ukraine, which has been resisting Russian aggression since the beginning of the war. Aid is being from the Czech Republic in the form of combat vehicles, drones, protective vests, mobile jammers that protect residents from drone attacks, as well as medical equipment such as ventilators and hospital beds,” Pavel said on X. “Together with the leadership of the Odesa, Mykolayiv and Kherson regions, we discussed further direct support for the regions that are directly on the front line.”

I asked my wife’s 50-year-old family friend for her thoughts on Moscow’s latest bombing of her hometown. She observed: “I remember how scary it was in 2022 (When Russia’s latest war against Ukraine began on February 22, 2022). How I woke up in the morning and read the news that the ‘orcs’ (Ukrainians’ pejorative description of Russian invaders.)  were approaching Mykolayiv, that in three hours they could be in Odesa, how Russian ships were anchored opposite Odesa, enemy guns were pointed at us, the Russian landing force tried to capture the city several times, how Odesa was closed for 2-3 days with a curfew. We all started praying in the morning and after a few hours the enemy retreated, his plans collapsed... Our guys went out to these monstrosities almost with their bare hands and pushed them back again and again. How many hours did that first long day of the war last? I don't remember when it ended for me personally – in three months or a year and a half, maybe when Kherson and Kharkiv were liberated. But, remembering those very difficult times, I clearly understand that God, his Protection and Help are always with us... otherwise we would not have survived then, in 2022. Ukraine has been defending itself from enemies for a very long time, but it has never learned to defend itself from betrayal. We must learn this lesson in order to finally become completely independent and self-sufficient.”

Ukrainians’ hope for a swift and victorious end to the war is intensified with every Russian drone and missile and every drop of Ukrainian blood. God bless Ukrainians.

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Trump’s Abandonment of Ukraine & Ukrainian Americans Deepens

Since his inauguration as President of the USA on January 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump has been behaving like an overt Russian asset rather than the duly elected chief executive of the American people.

Trump’s sidling up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin has become more visible by his actions and words every day. Much to the shock of the x-captive nations, notably Ukrainians, and their landsmen in the United States, Trump defiantly switched sides and began promoting Moscow’s line of imperial thinking. He blamed Ukraine for starting the war and he called President Zelenskyy a dictator. In Trump’s mind Ukraine was guilty of all transgressions while Russia was merely doing what others in its place would be doing—defending itself.

After the previous administration designated Ukraine America’s strategic partner, the current White House has stepped back. Its abandonment of Kyiv and Ukrainian Americans is deepening.

Two events took place this week that intensified the rejection.

After eight decades of providing truthful and needed analysis and information to the captive nations behind the iron curtain, President Trump has decided to silence the Voice of America. The VOA is an international broadcaster that operates in nearly 50 languages. USAGM also funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.

Tech billionaire and senior Trump adviser Elon Musk called for VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to be terminated. “Europe is free now (not counting stifling bureaucracy). Hello?? 2. Nobody listens to them anymore,” Musk said in an early February post on the social platform X. “3. It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money.”

Too bad that Musk is not in tune with what is happening in the now independent former captive nations otherwise he would know that VOA broadcasts, which kept previous generations informed about what was happening in the USSR and beyond, are still extremely viable and in demand, complementing the other media with its brand of news reporting.

Then, the White House announced that its participation in the commission investigating Russian war crimes in Ukraine has ended. This concerns the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA), which was established to hold Russia’s leadership and its allies in Belarus, North Korea and Iran accountable for aggression that violates the sovereignty of another country and is not conducted in self-defense.

According to sources familiar with the situation, the US Department of Justice has informed European officials about the US withdrawal from the group.

The decision was expected to be announced yesterday in an email to the group’s parent organization, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), according to The New York Times.

The Hague-based International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is a judicial hub supporting national investigations into the crime of aggression committed by the Russian leadership, including President Vladimir Putin, who has been convicted of war crimes, and Moscow's allies against Ukraine.

While the group is made up of specialists from Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and the Baltic countries, the Biden administration appointed a special prosecutor to support the hub’s activities in 2023.

The Trump administration will also reduce the work of the U.S. Justice Department's War Crimes Accountability Team, which was launched in 2022 to investigate Russia for the atrocities it had committed during the full-scale invasion. That’s like allowing all criminals to have their way at ruling their roost.

Ukraine is investigating more than 150,000 possible war crimes committed by Russia as part of its all-out war, including the summary execution of prisoners and targeted aerial strikes against civilians. Russian brutality against prisoners of war and civilians and kidnappings has been condemned by the United Nations and other international organizations.

Since being elected to office, the U.S., at the instructions of Trump, has sought to water down joint statements labeling Russia as the aggressor and the “sole obstacle” to peace.

Despite America’s withdrawal, the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression said the group remains “fully committed” to holding “those responsible for core international crimes” in Ukraine accountable, Schmid said. The group consists of prosecutors from Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

It is obvious, therefore, that the progression of steps by the Trump administration leads many to believe, including us, that Trump’s and Putin’s plans and goals for Ukraine are aligned, as Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis observed. His thoughts have been echoed by Finnish President Aleksander Stubb who said, “Putin does not want peace. His original goal was to destroy Ukraine — and that goal has not changed."

Despite what will be the upshot of today’s telephone conversation between Trump and Putin, Moscow has its own plans for Ukraine and the region. A document prepared for the Kremlin by a Moscow-based think tank states that “a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine war cannot happen before 2026,” according to The Washington Post.

The document, drawn up in February, outlines the Russian plan to weaken the U.S. position on the Ukraine crisis by boosting tensions between the Trump White House and other nations as Russia moves ahead with its plans to pick apart the country.

The document, obtained by a European intelligence agency and reviewed by The Post, argues that the current Ukrainian government needs to be fully dismantled. “The current Kyiv regime cannot be changed from inside the country. Its complete dismantling is needed,” the report states. This is proof that Moscow intends to expand its invasion and then evict, destroy and perhaps kill the democratically elected government of Ukraine and in its place install its typical puppets.

The sad irony of Washington’s position is that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who immigrated to the United States and their descendants in the 19th century, during World War One, after World War Two and today, have been betrayed by the White House. Today, the President and his minions are implementing policies that do not benefit anyone except Russia.