‘Putin is testing the UN and the security architecture of the whole world’
Ukraine Ambassador to Ireland Larysa Gerasko has called on the international community to take action against Russia in an emotional interview.
This comes after Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Thursday morning that Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched “a full-scale attack from multiple directions”.
Latest update.
No, this is not a Russian invasion only in the east of Ukraine, but a full-scale attack from multiple directions.
No, the Ukrainian defense has not collapsed. Ukrainian army took the fight. Ukraine stands with both feet on the ground & continues to defend itself.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 24, 2022
Appearing on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Gerasko fought back the tears as she said her thoughts were with Ukraine and her family living in the country.
“I’m so emotional. I’m really shocked. My parents live 150km from the northern border of Ukraine… My brother and his family live in Kiyv,” she told the programme.
Stating that her family is currently safe, she said that it is hard to believe that such an invasion is happening in the 21st century.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney says this is an illegal act of aggression by Russia – “they are lying to themselves and lying to the world about the justification for it" | Read more: https://t.co/CL4aiOuGLv pic.twitter.com/FnnRuC65IK
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 24, 2022
“As far as I understand, Putin is testing the UN and the security architecture of the whole world and the international community and international order,” Gerasko added.
“All the international community has to be very vocal and very strong now. There are steps that the international community must do immediately in order to stop Russia.”
She said a “devastating and tough sanction” has to be enforced against Russia and that Ukraine needs financial support and humanitarian assistance.
On Thursday, Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney took to Twitter to “utterly” condemn Russia for what he called “a shocking murderous act of aggression”.
He went on to say that “what President Putin has done and said over the last number of hours is not only to start a war with Ukraine… but he’s also warned any country that intervenes and helps Ukraine, he has also threatened them very directly.
“We are seeing a language that we simply have not seen in many many decades in Europe of aggression and of potential brutality.”
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden have already condemned Putin’s operation, reassuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that “international support” is on the way.
Related links:
- Reporters in Ukraine interrupted by explosions and missiles overhead
- Oleksandr Zinchenko claims Instagram deleted his post telling Vladimir Putin to die
- Ukraine’s Twitter compares Putin to Hitler after Russia launch full-scale invasion
