photo: ukrainska pravda
Employees of the US Embassy in Ukraine who recently moved to Lviv will spend nights in Poland but regularly return to their diplomatic work in Ukraine in the daytime. As Christina Queen, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States in Ukraine reported during the Lviv Now stream in Lviv 22 February, this is her duty to create safe conditions for the Embassy’s employees, and she had several reasons for that.
Among the reasons are, first of all, the fact that Putin did not withdraw troops from the borders with Ukraine, secondly, the aggressive military actions in Donbas, and, thirdly, his speech on Monday evening. According to Christina Queen, this was not a speech of a sensible person, so they decided to be more careful and go to spend the night in Poland and return to Ukraine.
Read also: Due to heavy smoke, the Consulate General of the Russian Federation called rescuers
In addition, in her address today, Christina Quinn said that the United States condemns Russia’s brazen attempt to usurp part of Ukraine’s sovereign territory by declaring recognition and independence of certain parts of Donbas. As Secretary Anthony Blinken said yesterday, this is a complete waiver of Russia’s commitments under the Minsk agreements, and completely contradicts the diplomatic commitments it has made.
«We all heard President Putin’s speech yesterday. His outrageous statements about Ukraine and the Ukrainian people were completely detached from reality and showed his misguided views, which correspond not to the world leader, but to the worst authoritarian leaders in Europe. Ukraine was founded by the Ukrainian people, and it is proud of its rich and beautiful culture... And this culture and sense of unity only strengthened after Ukraine was able to throw off the yoke of the Soviet Union.
Ukrainians have repulsed President Putin’s numerous attempts to undermine their progress as a modern democratic European country, but Ukraine has survived and will continue to do so.
The latest violation of international norms and laws will be met with a strong response from the United States. Yesterday, President Biden signed a decree banning all new trade and financing investments in the D/LNR, but this was only the first step. We continue to coordinate with our allies and partners to respond strongly to these unacceptable steps, and the response will be very rapid.
Read also: «Russia wants to provoke Ukrainian forces» – a Press-Attaché of the US Embassy in Ukraine
Let’s face it – President Putin’s actions threaten not only Ukraine but also the world order. It is an order that has maintained peace and stability since World War II. The international community of the United States stands on the side of Ukraine and supports Ukraine and unanimously condemns the wishes, actions and intentions of President Putin,» – she added.
We will remind that on 21 February, Vladimir Putin signed the decree on recognition of the independence of the occupied territories in Donbas. Foreign leaders have condemned Putin’s decision, saying it means the end of the Minsk process. Ukraine has called on Western partners to prevent Russia from starting World War III.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi assured that Ukraine’s borders are well protected. Ukraine wants peace and expects decisive steps from its foreign partners. At the same time, US President Biden signed a decree on sanctions against the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas. German Chancellor Scholz also announced the suspension of certification of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.
Olha Koval, translated by Vitalii Holich
Video by Volodymyr Barchuk
You can read a Ukrainian language version of this story here.
Follow Lviv Now on Facebook and Instagram. To receive our weekly email digest of stories, please follow us on Substack.
Lviv Now is an English-language website for Lviv, Ukraine’s «tech-friendly cultural hub.» It is produced by Tvoe Misto («Your City») media-hub, which also hosts regular problem-solving public forums to benefit the city and its people.
