The Head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andriy Sybiga, in the context of the escalation of Russian aggression, called on the international community to activate all possible diplomatic means to put pressure on the Kremlin regime in order to force Russia to sit down at the negotiating table and stop the war
In particular, all the tools available in the arsenal of European and world diplomats should be used without exception to change the situation in favor of peace in Ukraine. At the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, which became one of the key events of this week in European diplomacy, Sybiga drew special attention to the Russian side's reluctance to any peace proposals. "Russia responds to our efforts for a peaceful settlement with a generous outburst of man-made aggression - missile attacks on civilian objects, destruction of infrastructure and numerous victims," he noted. The minister did not hide the pain from the losses, reporting that over the past 24 hours, seven civilians have died as a result of Russian shelling of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities; many victims were injured, and civilian infrastructure was further destroyed. “Another night has cast doubt on any alternatives — Russian missiles are once again destroying human lives and property indiscriminately. This is the Kremlin’s real response to all our efforts for a peaceful settlement. This is a cynical demonstration that Putin does not want peace and seeks to intensify this war by any means,” the minister emphasized at a press conference. He emphasized that this is why now is the time to intensify diplomacy, apply all possible levers of influence and pressure to change this destructive trend. Andriy Sybiga also mentioned the importance of upcoming international meetings and summits — in particular, the planned NATO summit and the European Union summit, which should become a platform for developing a unified and tough approach to the sanitary and political isolation of Russia. “I am here in Brussels on the eve of these events to personally call on this united diplomatic sanctions machine to activate all its resources,” said Szybiga. “We must demonstrate unity and determination. Our ultimate goal is to create a price for Russian aggression that it will no longer be able to afford. This can be done, in particular, by applying sanctions, isolation, asset freezes and other measures of maximum restriction,” he added. The Ukrainian minister on Monday took part in a meeting of the EU Council of Foreign Ministers, at the invitation of the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaia Kallas. The meeting is an important stage in the preparation of future sanctions decisions, in particular the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, which the EU plans to adopt to increase pressure on the Kremlin for its involvement in the large-scale war in Ukraine. As analysts predicted, this week the EU is expected to approve a new element - the 18th package of sanctions, which provides for even stricter restrictions, asset freezes and a ban on cooperation with the Russian economy. Obviously, these measures should strengthen the collective diplomatic response to Putin's aggression in order to achieve the necessary pressure and force Russia to return to negotiations. The Ukrainian authorities insist that without serious sanctions and the absence of the likelihood of a political compromise, the Kremlin will not stop and will continue to destroy the peace. In general, the situation remains tense, and Ukrainian diplomats call on their partners for solidarity and decisive action. The world community must join forces to stop Russian aggression and return troops to the negotiating table, because the blood and destruction left behind by war are a message about the failure of diplomacy and human humanity.