SUPPORT UKRAINE! SAVE THE FREE WORLD!

Dear colleagues and partners!

These days Ukraine is fighting not only for itself but for European values of freedom and democracy, exactly because Ukraine share these values.

Shellings and fighting continue along the state border with Russia and Belarus, in Donbas, along the administrative boundary with the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea. Russia simultaneously attacks Ukraine from the East, South, North and by air. Currently, the Russian army tries to seize Kyiv.

As of 22:30 24 February, the Russian troops fired at our positions 393 times including 32 civilian objects, destroyed 6 control posts, attacked Serpent Island in the Black Sea, seized the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station and a part of southern Kherson region including the North Crimean Canal. There are civilian casualties.

The Russian troops are suffering losses: aircrafts, helicopters, tanks, trucks, personnel.
Thousands of Ukrainian citizens have already joined territorial defense. More are to come in the next days.

Regional administrations, Kyiv city state administrations and local self-government bodies must establish defense councils and provide assistance to the military commandment in introducing and implementing measures of the martial law.

A curfew was introduced in some Ukrainian cities including Kyiv. Ukraine has cut off diplomatic relations with Russia.

We join the calls of the Ukrainian government to our international partners to follow the example of Ukraine. We deem it unacceptable to maintain diplomatic relations with the aggressor state, which openly attacks its neighbor without any reason.

The international organizations must consider banning Russia’s membership for flagrant violations of international law.

Those expressing support to Russia’s actions in Ukraine we consider aggressors as well.

We count upon the proper reaction by the international community. We are grateful to our partners, which continue to provide additional support to Ukraine in a variety of ways (for instance, almost 1 bln USD loan by Poland).

We appreciate sanctions imposed by a number of countries of the world (EU, Australia, Canada etc), especially the strongest sanctions already imposed by the US and the UK, which will severely undermine Russia’s economic and financial capacities to continue its aggression.

We expect the EU to include SWIFT into the package.

Therefore, we urge the international community to express solidarity with Ukraine by:

1. Imposing immediately massive coordinated sanctions against Russia including cutting-off the SWIFT.
2. Specifically to the citizens of Germany, Italy, Hungary, Cyprus – demand from your government to approve cutting off Russia from SWIFT.
3. To NATO: to close the sky over Ukraine and to provide Ukraine with the shelter from the sky.
4. To all of the people of the good will: make pressure on your governments and demand them supply more ammunition and anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, since the Russian attack is very massive.
5. We call on the international organizations to provide us with humanitarian assistance and register all cases of violation of the norms of international and international humanitarian law.
6. Supporting Ukraine with weapons, protective equipment, fuel, and whatever necessary to counter the biggest army in the continent.
7. Isolating Russia in all possible international fora.
8. Providing financial support to Ukraine.

Media Initiative for Human Rights
Institute for Peace and Common Ground
Initiative “Dialogue in Action”
Ukrainian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
NGO “Country of Free People”
Mediation and Dialogue Research Center, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Human Rights Center ZMINA