UK Chargé d'Affaires, Deputy Ambassador James Ford, condemns
Russia's attempts to justify its illegal occupation of Crimea. He
reaffirms that Crimea is Ukraine and calls on Russia to end its
occupation and cease its wider war of aggression.
"Thank you, Mr Chair.
Last week, Russia used this Council to “celebrate” the so‑called
reunification of Crimea with the Russian Federation. Russia even
claimed that this “confirms that there are alternatives to
violence and hatred”.
Mr Chair that was disinformation not worthy of this forum, and it
warrants a clear rebuttal. Russia knows that its invasion,
occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea in 2014 was
achieved through force. And nothing in the reality of Crimea
today supports the narrative Russia presented here last week.
In the drafting of the Helsinki Final Act, the USSR itself was
insistent on the inviolability of frontiers in Europe. It is
notable that Russia is now the State seeking to erode this
foundation of our collective security.
Indeed, Russia's actions in Crimea in 2014 violated multiple
Helsinki principles, including: sovereign equality; the
inviolability of frontiers; territorial integrity; refraining
from the threat or use of force; and the peaceful settlement of
disputes. The events of 2014 were not a spontaneous expression of
popular will. They followed an anti‑constitutional seizure of
territory, conducted under military occupation, and accompanied
by systematic pressure on local populations. This included
Crimean Tatars, whose fundamental rights have since been
routinely violated.
Twelve years on, Russia's attempts to retroactively justify its
actions do not alter these facts. Nor do they change the reality
that Crimea's occupation marked another milestone – alongside
Russia's actions in Moldova and Georgia – in Moscow's assault on
European security. Russia's actions of 2014 culminated in the
full‑scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and of course continue
today.
Independent reporting shows that the tactics Russia employed in
Crimea have since been applied across other occupied areas of
Ukraine: methods like detention, disappearances and deportations,
targeting Ukrainian communities and attempting to erode Ukrainian
identity.
And Russia's continued large‑scale aerial assaults across Ukraine
demonstrate how this same pattern of coercion and disregard for
civilian life continues today. Earlier this week, Russia launched
nearly one thousand drones and dozens of missiles in the largest
attack over a 24-hour period since the war began. Among the sites
damaged were Lviv's 16th‑century Bernardine Monastery – a UNESCO
World Heritage site – and a maternity hospital. These attacks are
part of a sustained strategy of intimidation that demonstrates,
yet again, Russia's contempt for peace talks and its refusal to
resolve disputes through diplomatic or lawful means.
Mr Chair, OSCE participating States have repeatedly reaffirmed
the Helsinki Final Act and underlined that its principles are
non‑negotiable. Russia agreed to these principles freely; in
fact, it strongly advocated for some of them. It cannot choose to
invoke them when convenient while discarding them in practice.
The United Kingdom reaffirms that Crimea is part of Ukraine,
today as in 2014. We call on Russia to meet its OSCE commitments
by ending its occupation of Crimean territory, and all occupied
territory, and ceasing its war of aggression against Ukraine.
Thank you."
