On 24 February 2022, Russia significantly escalated the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014, by launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This has resulted in Europe’s largest conflict since WWII causing hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties. Currently, Russian forces control roughly 18% of Ukraine’s territory.
Following Ukraine’s 2014 revolution, Russia annexed Crimea and supported separatists in eastern Ukraine. Despite further occupation in 2022, Ukrainian resistance forced Russian withdrawals in several regions, including Chernihiv, Kyiv, Sumy, and Zhytomyr in early April, and Kharkiv and Kherson later in the year. The UN General Assembly has since reaffirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity, rejecting Russia’s annexation claims. We condemn Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine and urge the international community to put pressure on the aggressor and support Ukraine in regaining sovereignty over its occupied territories.