Ukraine at OSCE: Destruction of our statehood remains Russia's goal

Nataliia Kostenko, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, stated this during the meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation meeting, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

"Seizing the entire territory of Ukraine and destroying its statehood remains the main goal of the Russian Federation. When, after years of negotiations within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group and the Normandy Four format, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it only confirmed its intentions to implement the long-standing plan to destroy Ukraine as an independent and sovereign state," Kostenko said.

The diplomat pointed out that after more than 14 months of high-intensity military operations, the Russian Federation continues its efforts to advance and capture the entire territory of Donetsk region, where the most difficult situation is observed in Bakhmut section.

"According to current estimates, the Russian Federation has concentrated 25,600 military personnel in Bakhmut area alone, armed with 65 tanks, 450 armored vehicles, 154 units of tube artillery and 56 MLRS. Just think: to capture a settlement with a pre-war population of about 70,000 people, the Russian Federation was forced to deploy an operational grouping of forces that can be compared to the total military power of some European countries," said the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna.

At the same time, she emphasized that despite such a numerical advantage of the Russian troops, the Armed Forces of Ukraine hold the defense and inflict heavy losses on the enemy.

"Only after realizing the real goal of the Kremlin's war – the destruction of Ukrainian statehood – can one understand why cruelty and indiscriminateness are a characteristic feature of Russian military tactics," the representative of the Ukrainian mission emphasized, recalling the recent missile attacks on houses and civilian objects in Uman and Pavlohrad.

Kostenko stressed that the Kremlin regime does not show any signs of readiness to end this bloody war, and "neither the large number of victims nor the devastating consequences for their own country could change the aggressive plans of President Putin."

She also pointed out the obvious fact that Moscow's calls for a "ceasefire" and "negotiations" without the de-occupation of Ukrainian territory "can only lead us into a trap, giving the aggressor state time to strengthen its military potential and prepare for a new aggression."

"Ukraine wages a war of self-defense for its independence and its very existence. If Ukraine stops resisting, it will be destroyed. If Russia withdraws its troops from the territory of Ukraine and stops military operations, this will lead to the restoration of peace," concluded the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna.