The Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security pursues efforts to provide a brief explanation to foreign audiences on the current topics of particular interest as regards Ukraine.
RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE
“Every destroyed Ukrainian city, every burned village – and there are already hundreds and hundreds of them – is proof that Russia is committing an international crime,” Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized in his speech at the UN Security Council meeting on September 24.
Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine is a brutal violation of the UN Charter. According to the legally binding order of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations of March 16, 2022, Russia must cease fire and immediately withdraw its troops from the entire territory of Ukraine within the internationally recognized borders.
The special cynicism of the Kremlin is that Russia uses the UN tribune to spread propaganda and voice its blackmailing demands on Ukraine and the international community.
According to the UN Charter, Ukraine’s right to self-defense against the aggressor is inalienable and is not questioned by the international community. However, to realize this right as effectively as possible, Ukraine needs sufficient and timely military support from partners. Any delays and restrictions on such assistance encourage Russia to continue its aggression.
Military support for Ukraine corresponds to the interests of the international community, since Russia is encroaching on the destruction of the world order, the foundations, and values of which are recorded in the UN Charter. That is why proposals to “appease the aggressor” are dangerous not only for Ukraine, but also for the whole world.
THREAT OF ATTACKS ON NPPs
Ukraine is warning that Russia will try to disrupt Ukraine’s energy system as winter approaches and is preparing to strike three nuclear power plants.
This confirms the criminal intention of the Kremlin to provoke a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine in order to increase the suffering of the civilian population during the winter period.
The ultimate goal of Russia’s energy terror is to undermine the morale of Ukrainians and incline Kyiv to “peace” on Putin’s terms. For this reason, attacks on civilian infrastructure are accompanied by informational attacks designed to spread panic and decadent sentiments in Ukrainian society.
Probable strikes on the NPPs will pose a threat not only to Ukrainians, but also to the entire continent, since it is impossible to localize the environmental consequences of a radiation disaster. That is why UN member states must use all their leverage to force the Kremlin to abandon its criminal intentions.
The best response to the Kremlin’s blackmail is to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities. The more decisively the aggressor state receives a rebuff, the sooner Moscow will get rid of illusions about the possibility of inducing the Ukrainians to surrender through energy terror or in any other way.
FAKES ABOUT “AFU CRIMES”
On August 24, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine of attacking hospitals and other civilian objects in the Kursk oblast, shooting civilians, looting, and deliberately obstructing evacuation. Also, the Ministry announced the deaths of 56 civilians in Kursk oblast and 266 wounded.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has long since turned into a mouthpiece of Kremlin propaganda. False accusations of war crimes are aimed at discrediting Ukraine in the eyes of the international community and compromising the AFU.
By inventing “AFU crimes”, Moscow seeks to divert the attention of the international community from its own crimes against the civilian population of Ukraine that are real and documented.
Commenting on the attack by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Heorhii Tykhyi, the Ukraine Foreign Ministry representative, emphasized that the AFU adhere to international humanitarian law and do not attack the civilian population. “Given Russia’s constant falsification of numbers and spreading propaganda, there is no way to verify these claims. If Russia really wants to show the real situation on the ground, it can provide access to the UN and the Red Cross”, Tykhyi explained.
The AFU actions on the territory of the Kursk oblast are a defense operation carried out exclusively for the purpose of protecting the population of Ukraine from the unprovoked aggression of the Russian Federation. “You see, we are not adding anything to our state, we are not changing legislation, the Constitution, etc. We don’t need foreign lands and citizens,” Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized.
