By STRASBOURG. Dec 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Founder of the evacuation medical unit Angels of Taira Yulia Pajvska assures residents of the European Union that in case of any difficulties, they can count on the support of Ukraine.
At a press conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday after the ceremony of awarding the Andrei Sakharov Prize to representatives of the Ukrainian people, among whom was Pajevskaa, she said: "It is a great honor for me to receive this award for the people of Ukraine. From the whole of Ukraine, I can say: if you have any difficulties, you can always count on the support of Ukraine, our armed forces and our society."
Another representative of the Ukrainian people, chairman of the Center for Civil Liberties Oleksandra Matviychuk, said that the war that the Russian Federation is waging against Ukraine is "not just a war between two states, it is a war between two systems – authoritarianism and democracy."
"Putin is trying to convince the whole world that democracy, the rule of law and human rights are false values because they failed to protect you during the war. We must break this cycle of impunity that has been going on for decades … We must create an international tribunal and bring Putin, Lukashenko and other criminals to justice. If authoritarian regimes cooperate with each other, democracies should support each other even better," she is convinced.
Mayor of Melitopol of Zaporizhia region, Ivan Fedorov, who was also awarded the Sakharov Prize for the Ukrainian people, also believes that "when Ukraine wins, it will win together with the European Union." "If we fail, we will fail together, because Ukrainians defend common values," she said.
Answering the journalists’ question about what Europe can do, Matviychuk expressed confidence that "we need weapons, sanctions and justice, and then – the restoration of the country." "We need a strong voice from the EU, and especially the EP, and we need a level of sanctions that will stop the ability of the Russian economy to continue this war and finance this brutality, and we need justice, because all this hell is the result of complete impunity, which Russia has enjoyed for decades, and which is becoming part of the culture – Russians believe that they can do anything whatever they want," she said.
"We must create an international court to bring all Russians who have committed crimes with their own hands to justice, as well as Putin, the supreme military command and the leadership of the Russian Federation," Matviychuk added.
