Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that over more than two years of Russian aggression in Donbas more than 10,000 Ukrainians were killed and more than 20,000 wounded.
“For over 2 years already, my country is a target of Russia’s armed aggression. The humanitarian account of this aggression is about 10,000 Ukrainians killed, over 20,000 wounded, and roughly 1.8 million internally displaced,” the president said in his speech at Leaders’ Segment of the UN World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, the presidential press service reported
Poroshenko also named three crucial elements to enhance the response to the conflicts and to the humanitarian challenges.
“Firstly, we must do our best to restore respect for the international law and ensure efficiency of international instruments so that conflicts be settled and their perpetrators be brought to justice. And this responsibility is collective,” he said.
“Secondly, to succeed on this path, we have to stand up in unity and solidarity and exercise robust political leadership. And we have to be decisive and consistent. We must say ‘enough is enough’ and stick to this postulate till the things come back to status quo ante. Here, I refer in particular to the sanctions debate. No one shall enjoy impunity. Only as we curb the conflicts will we be able to tackle a lion’s part of the humanitarian challenges,” the Ukrainian president said.
Thirdly, according to Poroshenko, Ukraine’s experience in Donbas suggests that it is very important to pay due attention not only to meeting immediate humanitarian needs but also to finding lasting solutions. It is important to pay long-term political attention to and ensure sustainable investment into fragile and post-conflict settings, he added.
“We do believe that a global commitment to the Agenda for Humanity can and will deliver a genuine change that we all aspire to. Ukraine is ready to play its part in supporting the implementation of the Agenda for Humanity and encourage other countries to do likewise,” Poroshenko summed up.
