H.E. Ambassador Larysa Gerasko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland's Address to University of Notre Dame Dublin
Prepared text of H.E. Ambassador Larysa Gerasko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Ireland's Address at the Notre Dame Forum “War & Peace”: Transatlantic Youth Perspectives event in Dublin, Ireland on June 28, 2023, co-sponsored by the University of Notre Dame Dublin Global Gateway and European Movement Ireland:
Dear students, ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here today and to address the audience of young people on the impact of war on the Ukrainian people and the whole world.
I am grateful to the European Movement Ireland and to the University of Notre Dame for complimenting me with this opportunity.
Before I turn to my remarks, let me extend the words of appreciation for Ireland’s support that we are receiving at this unprecedently challenging time for our country.
Ladies and gentlemen, Ukraine is at the epicentre of the war of destruction. Invaders, who have come to our land want not just to subjugate us, but also to make the world believe that no Ukrainians exist as an independent nation. They pose threat to democracy and to the values of the free world.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded and occupied parts of Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian War, which had begun in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and instigated Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. By June 2022, about 8 million Ukrainians were displaced within their country; more than 8.2 million had fled the country by June 2023.
Russia systematically and cynically violates international law and fundamental human rights and freedoms in Ukraine. The harrowing aftermath of the occupation that was revealed on the liberated territories showed the true genocidal face of Russia.
Today Russia continues terrorising Ukrainian civilians. It shells kindergartens, schools and hospitals, destroys critical infrastructure and residential areas resulting in significant casualties.
Russia destroyed numerous civilian infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. Their number, as registered by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, has exceeded 110 thousand (including more than 87,000 residential buildings, 2,500 educational and 550 medical institutions, 430 cultural and 136 religious buildings, and some 4,770 water and electricity networks). These numbers do not include the temporarily occupied areas, in which the level of destruction is much higher.
Russia relies on cannon fodder and scorched earth tactics while attacking Ukraine. Russia hopes to turn the tide in the protracted war of attrition, counting on mass mobilization, war fatigue and nuclear blackmailing. Kremlin plays for time, trying to postpone Ukraine’s victory.
But Ukrainians, same as Irish, are infinitely brave and freedom-loving. And we will live! And we will live freely.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this war is not only about Ukraine, as someone might think. It goes far beyond the territory of Ukraine. Its consequences directly affect the whole Europe and wider. And its indirect, delayed consequences sooner or later will definitely have an impact on the whole world.
The far-reaching consequences that can already be experienced are migration crisis, food and energy security, ecological safety etc.
The most obvious one is extensive migration. Almost 15% of the population of Ukraine fled Ukraine escaping the war. Ireland was one of the first to open its borders for Ukrainians without any preconditions. As of today, temporary protection in Ireland was granted to more than 80,000 Ukrainian nationals.
The other one is food security. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the food security of millions of people around the world has been under serious threat. Despite the war, Ukraine was and remains a reliable guarantor of the world food security. To this end, it is necessary to ensure successful, continuous and safe implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative as well as of the Ukraine’s humanitarian initiative “Grain from Ukraine.”
Currently, due to Russia's aggression and destructive position, the Black Sea Grain Initiative of Ukraine within the framework of the World Food Programme, that supplies grain to Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Yemen, is operating at less than 20% of its throughput capacity. These countries are all at a risk of hunger.
Russia weaponizes food again. Again, it blackmails the world with hunger.
The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam's destruction has led to changes in water availability and distribution, affecting irrigation for agricultural lands. Reduced water flow in the Dnipro river and its tributaries has implications for crop production, potentially leading to decreased agricultural productivity and food security concerns. Vast agricultural areas in southern regions of Ukraine will not be able to produce food for a long time, leading to an even greater shortage of food globally.
Russia’s war has resulted in significant environmental degradation, further deepening the challenges of climate change. The destruction of critical infrastructure, including industrial facilities and power plants, has led to the release of hazardous pollutants into the air, soil, and water. Such pollution poses immediate health risks to the affected communities and contributes to long-term environmental damage, compromising efforts to mitigate climate change.
Russian occupiers commit war crimes of ecocide. Millions of hectares of forest have been burnt by shelling. Almost 200,000 hectares of our land are contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance. Ukraine is one of the most mined countries in the world: approximately 174,000 square km (about 30% of Ukraine's territory) remain dangerous because of enemy mines. Dozens of coal mines are flooded, including the mine where an underground nuclear explosion was carried out in 1979.
Furthermore, the war has disrupted the country's energy sector, which is vital in transitioning to low-carbon and renewable energy sources. Ukraine's renewable energy projects have faced numerous setbacks due to Russian aggression, hindering progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the country's resilience to climate change impacts. The instability caused by the war has also impeded foreign investments in renewable energy infrastructure, delaying the country's energy transition and impeding global efforts to combat climate change.
For the first time in human history, Russia is using access to energy resources as blackmail and geopolitical confrontation on a globe scale. Energy terror against Ukraine, especially in the winter period, and the use of cold as a weapon have turned into a regional and international threat, negatively affecting the world price situation for basic energy resources and electricity. Russia also makes it impossible to supply Ukraine’s electricity to neighbouring countries, which could significantly help the latter to stabilize the energy situation and reduce prices for consumers. I am sure many of you have noticed a recent price rise in your electricity bills; that is also an indirect consequance of the Russian war in Ukraine.
Ladies and Gentlemen, another huge threat to the world is Russian nuclear blackmail.
Russia holds the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant hostage, violating all principles of nuclear and radiation safety. The Russian invaders installed fortifications on at least three reactors of the ZNPP and suspended the operation of reactors.
The ZNPP should be demilitarized. Presence of Russian terrorists on the territory of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe poses a direct threat to the nuclear safety of all mankind.
Russia is the only such state in the world that fired tanks at the premises of a nuclear power plant. No one else made the nuclear plant a test site for storing weapons and shells. Russia is covering itself with a nuclear plant to shell our cities with jet artillery. If anyone in the world is still able to ignore Russia's other war crimes, such a crime against humanity must certainly motivate everyone to action.
That is what we Ukrainians say, the nation that had to survive the Chernobyl radiation disaster in 1986. A part of our land is still a closed zone—a zone of exclusion. Just imagine that, Russian troops launched their offensive through this zone. They dug trenches simply in those forests, where materials contaminated by radiation were buried even in Soviet times.
Also, earlier this year Russia announced suspension of its participation in New START (Strategic Arms Reduction) Treaty, a further step towards destruction of the existing architecture of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Several months ago, two cruise missiles fired by Russian invaders flew dangerously close to the Pivdennoukrainska Nuclear Power Plant, posing a threat of nuclear disaster.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Ukraine wants peace more than any other country does. But we can not afford Putin’s perverted “peace,” which is to secure a ceasefire and consolidate his gains. This would merely set the stage for a new war in the coming years once Russia recovered economically and regrouped militarily.
The first and most obvious precondition for future peace talks is the withdrawal by Russia of all troops and armed formations from the territory of Ukraine and cessation of hostilities. Re-establishing Ukraine’s territorial integrity is the only way to secure a sustainable peace. This was defined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and according to the polls supported by overwhelming majority of the Ukrainian population.
Second, Ukraine needs to receive credible security guarantees. Putin’s disregard for all international agreements makes it impossible for Kyiv to rely on the documents like 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which turned out to be worthless. Due to this Memorandum Ukraine has given away to Russia its second biggest in Europe nuclear arsenal, just to face those arms being used against us by the Memorandum’s side.
Since then, to our strongest belief credible security guarantees could only be provided by a strong Ukrainian military and a membership in a powerful military alliance.
Third, Russia must pay war compensations and reparations for the devastation it has caused in Ukraine. Russian assets abroad should be identified and legal mechanisms put in place to direct this money to Ukraine.
Fourth, every Russian war criminal must be punished. The establishment of the Special Tribunal will enable Russia’s political and military leadership to be prosecuted for the gravest crime, the crime of aggression. And we are grateful to Ireland for supporting us on this track.
Every Russian soldier and official who has committed serious war crimes should be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Ukrainian authorities have already begun the process of registering and documenting Russian war crimes.
Thousands of Ukrainian children unlawfully deported to Russia and subjected to illegal adoption must be returned to Ukraine. Almost 20 thousand children are still in Russian captivity. Russia’s forced adoption and deportation of Ukrainian children is a flagrant violation of the Genocide Convention and Geneva Conventions. It is part of a larger ethnic cleansing campaign.
Ladies and Gentlemen, pretending to be ready for peace talks on one hand, on the other, Russia keeps ramping up its efforts on the battlefield in an attempt to turn the tide of the war in its favour. It is still in their plans to seize as much of the Ukrainian territory as possible.
If Ukraine losses this war, it would be clear signal to Russia that it can carry on. To further terrorize the world. And it wouldn’t stop.
Russia is obviously a terrorist state and its deeds are crimes against humanity. The world should not stay aside. Restoring justice is a prerequisite of preventing similar war crimes in other countries of the world. Ensuring appropriate responsibility and tools for punishment of the aggressor state for its crimes will strengthen the system of the international law, global security and serve as a warning to other countries that may harbour neo-imperial or revanchist sentiments.
The whole world is in danger. The world has to unite and join its efforts in helping Ukraine to defeat Russian menace to the globe.
Thank you!