The exhibition “Year of Invincibility: The Point of No Return” is organized by the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center (USCC) and was first presented on February 24, 2023, during a meeting at the UN headquarters in Geneva. Since then, the USCC has continued to disseminate evidence and stories of numerous war crimes committed by the Russian Federation around the world. The purpose of the event is also to fight pro-Russian politicians within European countries, as well as the influence of the Russian lobby there.
Therefore, in her speech, the Kyiv Post journalist drew attention to the Kremlin’s influence on political decisions in Euro-Atlantic countries and the results of such rhetoric.
In addition, she noted what theses about the truce are promoted by Russian propaganda through Western politicians and what “agreements on Moscow’s terms” will lead to.
Read the main theses from the speech below:
My name is Anna Neplii, I have come to speak to you today from Kyiv, where I am a journalist at the Kyiv Post. Our team holds the line on the information front and represents Ukraine’s global voice.
We are very well aware of Romania’s strong support and invaluable assistance. So first, please allow me to thank you all on behalf of all of us at the Kyiv Post and all Ukrainians for standing with us. It’s really very important for us.
Every one of my trips to Romania makes me see ever more clearly how much Ukrainians and Romanians have in common. Above all, it’s about our spirit of fighting for freedom and our ability to influence our political leadership.
We are democracies where the power is the people, and the people are the power. Both Romanians and Ukrainians did away with communism, but the difference is that Romanians are safe as members of the EU and NATO while Ukrainians are fighting the Russian communist posterity.
This bloody war has been going on for nine years; 15 months since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
For 15 months Ukrainians have been defending their right to exist as a nation; securing the safety of Europe and civilization.
This war is, in fact, a fight between Good and Evil.
In the beginning of his political career, Putin wanted Russia to join NATO, but he wanted an unconditional accession. He was denied that, but Moscow is still able to influence NATO and EU countries through proxying and lobbying.
The [Russian] president, who once said that Russia “is not in the same line with many insignificant countries,” continues the Kremlin’s attempts to impose conditions on NATO’s decision-making.
To date, unfortunately, he is succeeding. He has been able to keep the EU and NATO’s doors politely closed to a country whose citizens are fighting and dying for peace on the continent and global international civilization.
It is literally vital for Europe to end this war and end it soon. It is vital for Ukraine to have guarantees of security, which can only be given by NATO membership. And, this requires political decisiveness. Anything else would be just a compromise in the aggressor’s favor.
The Kremlin and Putin do have ears, and when they hear that NATO will not consider Ukraine’s bid until after the war, they understand that they just need to keep this war going. But, even after Russian troops withdraw, leaving Ukraine within its 1991 borders, they will surely continue to shell its cities and villages, blocking its seaports and airports, and will gear up for a new invasion. This threatens the security of the entire Black Sea Region and the security of states far beyond.
Besides blocking Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance, Moscow continues to lobby for its interests within the global information space. Last fall, even in the walls of this Parliament we heard theses stating that Ukraine and Russia should negotiate through go-betweens.
That’s what Moscow is after: to persuade, if not coerce, the Ukrainian leadership to agree to Russia’s terms, meaning Ukraine would have to pledge to never join NATO and let its occupied territories remain under Russian boots. We see China’s role rising within this framework of so-called peace-making.
But as everybody knows, Russia has never complied with any agreements.
It’s clear that peace talks would only pause the war for a while until Russia catches its breath, revamps its forces and braces up to finish the suspended work, using the occupied territories as a bridgehead for an even more massive invasion, and not only of Ukraine.
Right now, and every single minute that passes, Ukraine’s heroic defenders are buying time for all of you, all of us, with their lives.
It follows that none of us have the moral right to waste any time. We need to make the most of it for action toward accession to the EU and NATO.
This is no time for abstract thinking. It is time for definite timeframes and terms. Only then can we ensure that this war doesn’t last for decades spreading far beyond the borders of Ukraine and the Black Sea Region.
As Senator Alina Gorghiu pointedly noted: “A strong and free Ukraine will mean a strong Europe.”
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