The conflict at the Ukraine-Russia border can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy
Kyiv, Ukraine – Students For Liberty joins the international community in supporting Ukrainian sovereignty and calls for a peaceful resolution of the conflict at the Ukraine-Russia border.
In 2014, the Ukrainian people chose a democratic and European future. Russia responded by creating a crisis and invading.
At present, with the threat of Russia using military force, any further escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine will have devastating consequences for human rights in the region; it will threaten civilian lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure, and cause mass displacement.
Ukraine’s recent history is marked by conflicts involving Russian troops. In 2014, Russia illegally annexed 10,000 square miles of Ukrainian territory and ignited a war in the Donbas region. This has destroyed lives and torn apart communities. Ukraine has scarcely known a day of peace ever since.
Ukraine now faces the danger of a renewed invasion. This time, the Russian military force mobilized along the border comprises over 100,000 troops – a far more significant force than anything Russia has deployed before. This represents an escalation and forms part of a pattern of aggression that we’ve seen repeatedly from Russia in the past, whether in Georgia, Belarus, Moldova, or in other parts of Ukraine.
Amid all the tensions, Ukraine asks for nothing other than to be allowed to live in peace and seek her alliances, as every sovereign country has a right to do.
We express our support for the freedom, self-determination, and independence of Ukraine.
We see no alternative to peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict and restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. As an independent and sovereign country, Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements, including treaties of alliance, which neither Russia nor any other country can interfere with.
We strongly call on the government to cooperate with the international community, utilize all diplomatic resources, and do its utmost to ease tensions over Ukraine and bring about a swift and peaceful resolution.
