Thank you, Madam Chair.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yesterday, Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day \u2013 the day in 1991 when the country declared independence from the former USSR.\u00a0 The Ukrainian people overwhelmingly backed this decision, with 92% voting in favour of independence.\u00a0 That choice was recognised by the international community, including the Russian Federation, and Ukraine took its rightful place as a sovereign nation among equals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
34 years later, the Ukrainian people once again find themselves in a struggle for freedom.\u00a0 Since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainians have fought heroically for their homeland and their right to exist.\u00a0 Russia\u2019s war of aggression is not simply about territory, it\u2019s about Ukraine\u2019s existence as an independent, sovereign nation and people.\u00a0 President Putin\u2019s objective, from the beginning, appears to be the end of Ukraine as a separate, independent entity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, while yesterday\u2019s anniversary was a celebration of national sovereignty, identity and culture, it was also a solemn reminder of the price Ukrainians continue to pay to defend them.\u00a0 Their fight is not for some abstract ideals that matter only to Russia and Ukraine.\u00a0 These are the principles that form the foundations of Euro-Atlantic security, including sovereign equality and territorial integrity.\u00a0 They are enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act and matter to us all.\u00a0 Three weeks ago, we all gathered in Helsinki to mark the 50th anniversary of the Act\u2019s adoption, but it is Ukrainians who are defending them every day on the front lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is why Ukraine\u2019s future and the way that Russia\u2019s illegal war comes to an end is important for us all. We must secure a just and lasting peace that ensures the Ukrainian people never have to live in fear of attack again.\u00a0 Future anniversaries should not be interrupted by air raid sirens and drone strikes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Russia must return the Ukrainian children that it has illegally deported and those it has been forcing into military training to line up on the front line against their families and compatriots.\u00a0 It must cease its systematic efforts to eradicate Ukrainian identity through brainwashing and corrupting the education of children.\u00a0 It must stop the forced passportisation of Ukrainians, obliging them to become Russian nationals or risk being forced out of their homeland.\u00a0 It must also release the 3 SMM staff that it has detained arbitrarily – Vadym Golda, Maxim Petrov and Dmytro Shabanov.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom welcomes President Trump\u2019s efforts to end Russia\u2019s war of aggression and achieve a just and lasting peace.\u00a0 We are clear that Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.\u00a0 The Coalition of the Willing is ready to play an active role.\u00a0 This is important progress and will be crucial in deterring President Putin from coming back for more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
As we have said before, we will judge President Putin by his actions, not his words.\u00a0 We have yet to see concrete evidence that he is serious about ending this war.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Until peace is secured, the UK will keep tightening the screws on Russia\u2019s war machine.\u00a0 We will continue our military, humanitarian and diplomatic support.\u00a0 And we will use every platform – including this one – to call out Russia\u2019s violations of its commitments and reaffirm our steadfast support for Ukraine\u2019s independence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madam Chair, allow me to conclude by congratulating the people of Ukraine on their Independence Day.\u00a0 Their courage inspires us, and their resilience strengthens us. The United Kingdom stands with them today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes.\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thank you, Madam Chair.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yesterday, Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day \u2013 the day in 1991 when the country…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-372619","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-northern-ireland","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115090100580106669","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372619\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}