Ukraine at OSCE: Medvedev’s statements confirm existential threat to Ukraine posed by Russia

That’s according to a statement by Ukraine’s Delegation to the OSCE on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“The real main goal of President Putin – the occupation of all of Ukraine and the destruction of its statehood – remains unchanged. It was to achieve this goal that president Putin, with the support of Russian society infected with chauvinism, launched a war against Ukraine,” reads the statement read out to the OSCE Security Cooperation Forum by First Secretary of Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to the international organizations in Vienna, Danylo Kubai.

It was noted that it is “particularly cynical to hear how the Russian side keeps reiterating readiness for a political-diplomatic resolution while simultaneously denying the very existence of Ukraine as a state”.

“In this regard, a case in point are the recent words of Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, who stated that Russia would continue to fight with Ukraine for as long as Ukraine existed as a separate state. This statement clearly reveals the essence of Russian aggression and proves that as long as the current criminal Kremlin regime exists, there is an existential threat to Ukraine. In this situation, no compromise is possible,” the diplomat stressed.

He added that Russia’s massive missile and drone strikes on Ukraine over the past month – as the Russian forces deliberately target critical infrastructure such as medical and educational institutions, electricity and water supply facilities – “are yet another demonstration of intimidation and terror at the state level”.

Since year-start alone, the Kremlin has already carried out four massive strike at Ukraine, launching a total of over 200 kamikaze drones, ballistic and cruise missiles.

As reported earlier, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said that the reason for the war is the very fact of Ukraine's existence, regardless of a political “regime” that is in power. According to Medvedev, the very presence of an independent state on “historically Russian territories” will remain "a constant reason for the resumption of military operations."