THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE
Kyiv, 27 January 2015
APPEAL
to the United Nations, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly,
the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly
and national parliaments about the recognition of the Russian Federation
as an Aggressor State
Ukraine remains the target of a military aggression by the Russian Federation, which the latter
carries out, among other things, by supporting, and providing supplies for, large-scale terrorist
attacks.
Within less than two weeks, due to the shelling attacks and actions by Russia-backed
terrorists Volnovakha, Donetsk and Mariupol over 50 Ukrainian civilians have lost their lives.
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has confirmed that the shelling of Mariupol was
conducted from the terrorist-controlled territory while the logic of the tragic events points to a
pre-meditated bloody provocation to intimidate the civilian population. These tragic events
show that Russia and the terrorists that it supports do not want to implement the Minsk
Agreements, which currently remain the only internationally recognized framework for a
peaceful settlement.
From the beginning of the aggression in late February 2014, the Russian Federation
systematically violates basic norms of international law and human rights, including the right
to life of peaceful citizens of Ukraine who are held hostage to the terrorists in the occupied
territory of the Donbas. The cynicism of the Kremlin aggression, which includes active
support to terrorists at the state level, has turned the killing of innocent civilians into a
familiar, everyday fact. Russia’s implication is obvious in such terrorist attacks as downing
the Flight MH17 civilian airliner and the tragedies in Volnovakha, Donetsk and Mariupol.
Despite the concerted diplomatic efforts in the Geneva, Normandy and other formats, Russia
does not fulfil its obligations to comply with the universally recognized norms of international
law and agreements already reached. Thus, Crimea remains occupied and the demands of the
democratic community to stop the aggression and the flow of weapons, equipment and
manpower to terrorists are ignored by the Kremlin. The good intentions to leave the door open
to dialogue with the leadership of the Russian Federation only trigger new bloody terrorist
attacks in Ukraine.
In this regard, taking into account the provisions of the UN Charter and UN General
Assembly Resolution 3314 "Definition of Aggression" dated 14 December 1974, the
Parliament of Ukraine recognizes the Russian Federation as an Aggressor State and urges the
international partners of Ukraine:
- to prevent impunity for those responsible for crimes against humanity committed since the
beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine;