by Anastasia Forina, Oksana Grytsenko, Pavlo Podufalov
Verkhovna Rada deputies paid tribute to victims in Mariupol minute of silence during session of Verkhovna Rada on Jan. 27 in Kyiv.
Eleven months after Russia started a war against Ukraine, beginning with the seizure of Crimea, the nation’s parliament finally decided to call a spade a spade. The Jan.27 session of the Verkhovna Rada recognized Russia as an aggressor state and the Kremlin-backed Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic as terrorist organizations.
Ukraine wants other nations to follow suit.
With 271 votes out of a 421-seat body, parliament decided to send this statement to the United Nations, European Parliament, Parliamentary Assemby of the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, GUAM (an economic union of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) and other countries' parliaments, asking the world to recognize Russian aggression against Ukraine, and its occupation and annexation of parts of Ukrainian territory.
“Ukraine remains an object of aggression on behalf of Russia, which it conducts through support and supply of major terrorist attacks,” the statement reads. “In less than two weeks, over 50 peaceful citizens of Ukraine were killed in Volnovakha, Donetsk and Mariupol over the shelling and actions by terrorists supported by Russia.”
Parliament also called on for international recognition of separatists’ republics as terrorist organization and asked for military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and more sanctions against Russia.
“Cynicism of Kremlin aggression, which includes support of terrorists at the state level, makes killing of innocent peaceful citizens a daily event,” the statement said.
Parliament’s speaker Volodymyr Groysman said he will sign the address shortly.
Russia and separatists later slammed the decision of Verkhovna Rada.
“This is of course mindless and irresponsible statement, which probably aims to block the search of compromise,” said Grigory Karasin, deputy head of Russian Foreign Ministry.
“If it’s true, than it’s impossible to talk about any Minsk agreements,” said Vladislav Deinego, representative of government of self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic.
Ukrainian lawmakers said that the new decision allows for additional ways of internationals pressure on Russia.
“We are going to initiate procedure of possible exclusion of Russia from the UN Security Council over the violations it commits now,” Viktoria Siumar, MP of People’s Front party told the Kyiv Post.
“This is the first time we are taking the decision that based on the resolution 3314 of the (United Nations) General Assembly adopted in 1974 we are recognizing Russia as an aggressor in international law,” Yuliya Tymoshenko, head of Batkivshchyna party and co-author of the address said speaking from parliament rostrum. The recent actions of Russian Federation against Ukraine - invasion, military attack, occupation and engagement of armed gangs, which operate on the territory of other country - match four out of seven criteria defining the “aggressor state” in the resolution, according to her.
Grygoriy Nemyria, MP of Tymoshenko’s party and influential expert on foreign affairs, said he heard many times from foreign representatives that Ukraine should recognize separatists as terrorists prior to demand it from its foreign partners. He added that Ukraine should have passed this statement long ago, but the recent attacks at Mariupol and the fact that OSCE monitors confirmed that the deadly shelling was conducted by separatists, pushed parliament to do it now. “It is definitely time now to approve this decision,” he said. “War should be called a war, aggression should be called an aggression.
On Jan.27 lawmakers also passed in a first reading a bill simplifying the procedure for recognition the organizations as terrorist. If this bill becomes law, parliament following the decision of National Defense and Security Council will be granted the right to recognize a group as terrorist organization. Parliamentarians also approved changes to the lustration law excluding from the force of the law some of army officilas "who are extremely needed to secure the defense potential of the country," according to the author of the law, member of parliament of People's Front party Andriy Teteruk.
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