oleksandr.pukhliak@mfa.gov.ua
Appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Parliaments and Governments of Foreign States and International Organizations Regarding the True Intentions of the Russian Federation to Continue its War of Aggression Aimed at the Destruction of Ukraine
Following his inauguration, the President of the United States of America Donald Trump initiated a peace process aimed at the swiftest possible end to the aggressive war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. This initiative has been actively supported by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, leaders of the European Union member states, in particular France and Germany, as well as the United Kingdom, other European nations, and countries across the world.
At the same time, while the genuine aspirations of the Ukrainian people and the leaders of the free world are focused on ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace, the political leadership of the Russian Federation disguises its true and unchanging expansionist intentions to destroy Ukraine with rhetoric about its alleged readiness for peace negotiations. Over the past month, the Russian Federation has not reduced but, in some cases, even intensified its attacks against Ukraine, particularly targeting civilians and civil infrastructure.
Between January 1 and March 19, 2025, the Russian Federation launched an average daily number of five missiles of various types, 73 attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and 163 guided aerial bombs against the territory of Ukraine. From March 19 to April 28, 2025, the Russian military averaged 14 missiles of various types, 61 attack UAVs, and 182 guided aerial bombs per day. On April 17, 2025, the Russian army carried out another airstrike on the city of Kupiansk, striking a nine-story residential building with a guided aerial bomb and attacking residential areas of the city of Kharkiv with similar munitions. On April 18, 2025, the Russian Federation launched a missile attack on the city of Dnipro, damaging the Dnipro Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. On April 21, 2025, it attacked the Kherson region. Particularly brutal was the combined strike by the Russian army on April 24, 2025, against Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv, which resulted in the deaths of 13 civilians and the hospitalization of more than 90 others.
During these missile and bomb attacks on Ukrainian settlements, the Russian Federation directs hundreds of ballistic missiles, attack UAVs, and guided aerial bombs against the civilian population and civil infrastructure. Since the beginning of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, these war crimes committed by the Russian army and political leadership have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens, demolition of hundreds of thousands of residential buildings, including more than 175,000 housing units, 4,032 educational institutions, and 995 medical facilities, as well as 687 cultural infrastructure sites and 236 religious buildings. Additionally, over 200 schools have been completely destroyed, and more than 1,600 have sustained damage.
According to the World Bank, the total direct damage inflicted upon residential and other infrastructure across various sectors of the economy is estimated at approximately 176 billion US dollars. The most heavily affected sectors include residential construction (approximately 57 billion USD), transport (around 37 billion USD), energy and extractive industries (over 20 billion USD), trade and industry (over 17 billion USD), education and science (over 13 billion USD), and agriculture (over 11 billion USD). The frontline regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson have suffered the most severe losses, amounting to roughly 116 billion USD. Kyiv region and the city of Kyiv have also sustained substantial damage totaling 16 billion USD.
These facts demonstrate the true and persistent intentions of the Russian Federation to destroy Ukraine and confirm that the war crimes committed by the Russian Federation against the civilian population aim to annihilate Ukrainian statehood, to commit genocide against the Ukrainian people, and to dismantle Ukraine’s economy. These facts also expose the insincerity and hypocrisy of the statements made by the political leadership of the aggressor state regarding its purported willingness to engage in peace negotiations – negotiations that it demands be conducted exclusively on its ultimatumbased terms, which have remained unchanged since the onset of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
Back on March 11, 2025, Ukraine supported the proposal of the United States of America for a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire. In response to the Russian Federation’s statement about a 30- hour Easter ceasefire, Ukraine proposed that the Russian Federation agree to a complete ceasefire, or at the very least, a halt to attacks on civilian infrastructure, for a period of 30 days. Yet another example of cynicism and manipulation on the part of the Russian Federation was its proposal to observe a ceasefire from May 8 to May 11, 2025, to ensure silence during a military parade in Moscow.
Ukraine values human lives, not parades. There is no reason to wait until May 8. The fire must be stopped not for a few days, only to resume the killing afterward. Ukraine reaffirmed its proposal for an immediate, full, and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, which could serve as a basis for real diplomacy. However, even this proposal has been cynically ignored by Moscow. Instead, the Russian Federation continues to launch new missile and bomb attacks on Ukrainian civilians, attempting to deceive the free world and persist in its war to annihilate Ukraine.
Welcoming the peacebuilding efforts of the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, the leaders of the member states of the European Union, in particular France and Germany, as well as the United Kingdom, with the support of other states of Europe and the world, who seek to stop the Russian aggressive war against Ukraine as soon as possible and to achieve a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Europe,
Emphasizing that the “coalition of the willing” initiative is an important part of this process, the successful implementation of which will help prevent a recurrence of aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and will strengthen the European security architecture,
Paying tribute to the Ukrainian people, who are heroically resisting the unlawful full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine,
Honoring the memory of the fallen Defenders of Ukraine and peaceful civilians of Ukraine who perished as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and taking pride in the courage and determination of the warriors of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine in repelling the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine,
Stressing that Ukraine, as a member state and co-founder of the United Nations, which voluntarily gave up the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world, is exercising its right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, respects the universally recognized principles and norms of international law, and is committed to the peaceful resolution of armed conflicts, underscoring that, on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, adherence to universally recognized principles and norms of international law by the UN member states is a key prerequisite for establishing a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace for Ukraine, Europe, and the world,
Stating that the use of military force by the Russian Federation against Ukraine constitutes a crime of aggression and a flagrant violation of universally recognized principles and norms of international law, first and foremost the Charter of the United Nations, the Final Act of the 3 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe of 1 August 1975, the Memorandum on Security Assurances in connection with Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 5 December 1994 (Budapest Memorandum),
Emphasizing that despite its declarations of ceasefire and readiness for peace, the Russian Federation continues to manipulate and blackmail the international community, to kill peaceful citizens of Ukraine, and to destroy its civil infrastructure,
Appreciating the consistent position of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the member states of the Group of Seven in condemning the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine in the context of the need to defend democratic values, to restore a rules-based international order grounded in respect for international law, and to ensure justice for Ukraine and all victims who have suffered losses as a result of this armed aggression,
Recognizing the efforts to establish a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, expressing gratitude to international partners for their support and comprehensive assistance to Ukraine in its struggle to preserve the state sovereignty of Ukraine and liberate the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation,
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine calls upon the parliaments and governments of foreign states and international organizations to:
– strictly adhere to the norms of international law and the principles of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” and “nothing about Europe without Europe” during peace negotiations and the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula;
– continue productive and coordinated work to ensure effective and reliable security guarantees for Ukraine, which must become a key element of the peace agreement;
– strengthen foreign states’ support for Ukraine’s efforts to restore its territorial integrity within the internationally recognized state borders of Ukraine, including its territorial waters, and to achieve a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace that will prevent a recurrence of armed aggression against Ukraine, create sustainable security guarantees, and ensure a safe future for the Ukrainian people and lasting peace and stability in Europe;
– increase support for Ukraine and intensify pressure on the Russian Federation as the aggressor state, using all available military, political-diplomatic, sanctions, and economic instruments to put an end to the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine;
– accelerate the provision to Ukraine of a sufficient number of air defense systems to deter Russian terror, and increase investments in Ukraine’s defense industry, taking into account the available possibilities of using the frozen assets of the Russian Federation to meet Ukraine’s defense needs;
– continue financial assistance to Ukraine to ensure macro-financial stability and the ability to fund priority expenditures of the State Budget of Ukraine, and to facilitate the creation of mechanisms for attracting financial assistance from partners for the reconstruction of the destroyed economy, based on international damage and recovery needs assessments;
– strengthen sanctions, particularly against the energy sector of the Russian Federation, including the company «Rosatom», its affiliated subsidiaries and foreign partners, as well as the Russian Federation’s «shadow fleet», with the aim of deepening the economic isolation of the aggressor state;
– apply mechanisms to counter the circumvention of restrictive measures, introduce secondary sanctions, and transfer frozen assets of the Russian Federation to Ukraine;
– increase the scale of humanitarian response, taking into account the magnitude and protracted nature of the humanitarian consequences of the Russian war of aggression for Ukraine, with the aim of creating safe living conditions and jobs, and ensuring access to healthcare and education;
– facilitate the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war based on the “all for all” formula, and the safe return of illegally detained Ukrainian journalists, deported and forcibly displaced Ukrainian children, and other civilians;
– promote the earliest possible commencement of the work of the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and ensure its effective functioning with broad international support;
– support the investigation of the crime of armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as well as war crimes and other international crimes committed by citizens of the Russian Federation.