Explaining complex things in simple words: Approval of Valerii Zaluzhnyi's candidacy for position of Ambassador, Russian Pseudo-elections, Crimes of Russia

APPROVAL OF VALERII ZALUZHNYI’S CANDIDACY FOR THE POSITION OF AMBASSADOR

On March 7, President Volodymyr Zelensky approved the candidacy of Valerii Zaluzhnyi for the position of Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine sent a corresponding request to the British side.

• Valerii Zaluzhnyi is an intellectual and professional of the highest level, who enjoys the respect of colleagues all over the world. He is “personagrata” for all Ukraine’s allies.
• London is one of the most important capitals where issues of the global agenda are decided. Thus, this step is about strengthening one of the key areas of Ukrainian diplomacy.
• One of the main requirements for the Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK was an understanding of the military context. In this respect, there is no better candidate than the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

RUSSIAN PSEUDO-ELECTIONS ON TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

On March 17, Putin's regime will hold so-called “presidential elections” and will encourage Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied territories to participate in this farce.

•  The involvement of Ukrainians in the TOT in the Russian elections is another step of the invader towards illegal incorporation of the captured territories of Ukraine into Russia.
•  The participation of Ukrainians in the Russian elections has nothing to do with the expression of will and is a legally void act.
• Persons who participate in the organization and conduct of illegal elections at the TOT, or publicly call for them to be held, will bear responsibility in accordance with the Criminal Code of Ukraine under the article on collaborationism (Article 111-1, part 5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
• At the same time, the current Ukrainian legislation does not provide for criminal liability only for the fact of participation, including forced participation, in the so-called “elections” that Russia is preparing on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
• The boycott of the Russian “elections” on the TOT is a form of resistance to the occupation that brings the victory of Ukraine closer. At the same time, every Ukrainian under occupation must take into account the degree of personal risk when acting in defiance of the invaders.

CRIMES OF RUSSIA AGAINST UKRAINIANS

Two years ago, on March 9, 2022, a Russian aircraft struck the Mariupol maternity hospital. 17 people were injured, including pregnant women and women who recently gave birth. One of the women died along with her child.

• Russia is waging a genocidal war against Ukraine, which is accompanied by systematic violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes.
• The footage of the tragedy of Mariupol during the Russian siege became widely known thanks to the brave work of photographers such as Yevhenii Malolietka. Russia cannot hide its crimes with lies and silence.
• Russian propaganda lied that the maternity hospital in Mariupol was a military base of the Azov regiment, and pregnant women were driven to the site of the airstrike for “staging.”
• However, the pregnant Marianna Pidhurska featured in Yevhenii Malolietka’s picture was indeed about to give birth in the later-bombed maternity hospital, she was not an “actor” as initially declared by the Russian propaganda.
• Even though Russia put the life of the woman and her unborn child in danger, as well as lied and ridiculed her plight, Pidhurska later became an obedient tool of hostile propaganda on the TOT.
• Marianna Pidhurska's drama is a miniature story of how the aggressor state plans to treat all Ukrainians: to turn the victims of its violence into intimidated loyal subjects who “forgave” all the wrongs done to them.

Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security