On Tuesday, February 23, during a debate on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in the UN General Assembly, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN Sergey Kislitsa called on the international community to increase political and sanctions pressure on Russia to force it to release all Ukrainian political prisoners.
“Ukraine demands from Russia to stop its aggression, return to the framework of international law and withdraw from the occupied territories of Ukraine. We call on the international community to increase political and sanctions pressure on Russia to force it to liberate its currently held Ukrainian territories, release prisoners of war and political prisoners and observe decisions of international courts”,- he said.
Kislitsa stressed that even during the COVID-19 pandemic and contrary to Security Council resolution 2532 (2020), the occupying power seeks to destroy the identity of the Ukrainians and the indigenous population of the peninsula – the Crimean Tatars.
“Russia has already transferred 500 thousand of its citizens to Crimea in order to reduce the share of ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars. Since the beginning of its occupation, 25% of the local population has already changed. Without a doubt, it is deliberately provocative that even more Ukrainian citizens were arbitrarily arrested by Russian the occupation authorities on the eve of today's debate”,- the diplomat explained.
In addition, the representative of Ukraine called on the states to join the Crimean Platform as a new format for consolidating international efforts. He noted that the initiative is focused on five priority areas:
non-recognition policy;
security;
effectiveness of sanctions;
protection of human rights;
overcoming the negative impact of the temporary occupation of Crimea on the economy and the environment.