Russia should not receive any benefits or rewards from this war and should be held fairly accountable for its crimes. This was emphasised by Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his speech at the Bucha Summit, the President’s Office reports.
According to the head of state, three years ago, the world saw the scale of Russian aggression – the killed civilians on the streets of Bucha, evidence of torture and abuse. This was a clear confirmation that Russia’s war is not just a conflict between two states, but a confrontation between two systems: the European one, where human life and dignity matter, and the Russian one, where violence is the norm.
The crimes of Russian troops have been recorded in many cities of Ukraine – from Yahidne in Chernihiv region, where the occupiers held local residents in the basement for more than three weeks, to the destroyed and burned Mariupol. More than 183,000 war crimes committed by the Russian Federation have been officially recorded, and this figure does not include the occupied territories, where crimes continue.
‘We will not forgive this war, because to forgive would mean to recognise the right of the Russian system to exist and further spread at the expense of other peoples,’ Zelenskyy said.
The President stressed that in order to protect Ukrainians and all Europeans, effective international law, stronger sanctions and political pressure on Russia are needed. He called on foreign parliaments to continue to support Ukraine and bring to justice all those involved in war crimes.