The only realistic path to peace is to force the Russian aggressor to end its war.
This was stated by Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to International Organizations in Vienna Natalia Kostenko during an OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“Ukraine did not choose this war, but we are determined to end it. Unfortunately, Russia shows no such intention,” she said.
Kostenko pointed to a recent statement by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov that Russia is trying to mislead the world about its intentions, while “continuing to amass troops and ramp up weapons production in preparation for further aggression”.
“Ukraine has no choice but to continue its self-defense, in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter,” Kostenko stressed.
She added that, thanks to unwavering international support, Ukraine “proving that Russia’s war machine is not invincible”.
Against this backdrop, she pointed out that in February alone, Russian casualties amounted to over 36,000, having also lost more than 300 tanks, almost 1,500 artillery systems and almost 600 armored vehicles.
In addition, over the past week, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have successfully hit strategic Russian military facilities, including: an ammunition depot near Selydove (Donetsk region), a UAV control point in the village of Nesteryanka (Zaporizhzhia region), a command and observation post and UAV launch site near the village of Kopany (Zaporizhzhia region), and the Saky and Kacha air bases in temporarily occupied Crimea.
“With continued military support from our partners, Ukraine is demonstrating that Russia’s aggression can be defeated. The only realistic path to peace is to force the aggressor to stop its war. And we strongly believe that Russian ploys and manipulation will not succeed in breaking the global unity of countries that respect international law and reject aggression as a means of resolving conflicts.,” Kostenko emphasized.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky previously stated that Ukraine needs peace, not endless war, and that security guarantees are the key to achieving that peace.
Source: Ukraine in OSCE: forcing aggressor to end war only realistic path to peace
