The United Kingdom's Statement on Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

Statement of the Issue

The Crimean Peninsula is located between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, facing the Black Sea. Tension on the peninsula intensified when Russia federation sent armed forces upon it to “stabilise conflicts” during the 2014 Ukraine Revolution, and, by March 2015, annexed Crimea from Ukraine entirely. Despite Russians claiming the move as “based upon the will of the Crimean people”, the annexation itself is a direct violation to a many international agreements. Not only regional agreements like the Budapest Memorandum and Helsinki Accords, also none practice of armaments and ensuring territorial integrity of others, as stated in Article 2 of the UN charter, and in the statehood section of International Law, at that. Such disregard to peace-ensuring agreements is a threat to the safety and peace of the international community, and also to the principles and values the world is built upon.

Past Actions

Since the start of the Ukraine Crisis, namely after the Russian Invasion to Crimea, European Union Countries, including the United Kingdom, had placed Sanctions on the Russian Federation regarding their actions. By March 2014, only shortly after the invasion, Britain expelled 40% of Russian Ambassadors residing in London, and meanwhile releasing condemns to the Russian’s annexation repeatedly, at the same time standing by the US’s condemns as well. The UK is also a strong driving force that erge the EU to place restrain and cripple Russia economic-wise, such as necessitating a hard-to-get license for all goods trade with Russia, and banning exports and imports with Crimea itself. When Russia took no action on removing themselves from Crimea, it was the UK that proposes to the EU an even heavier tax sanction on Russia, a policy the UK itself has implemented and started executing.

Possible Resolutions

The United Kingdom stands by its point that the annexation of Crimea is illegal and unjust. However, it also recognizes that with the current state of affairs, progressive changes are more advisable. Addressing the concerns regarding the Tatars, original inhabitants of the Crimean Peninsula, being violated of their human rights, the UK would call upon Russia to allow international non-governmental human rights organizations, such as the Red Cross, unprosecuted and unlimited access into Crimea, to first gather evidence of whether there are ill-treatments to any group occurring, and to lend assistance if there are. Furthermore, the UK is fully supportive of “respecting the will of the Crimea people”, which is why a second referendum is advisable and appropriate. After four years under Russian rule, the Crimean people should be allowed another chance to decide for themselves, this time with a referendum fully visible to the entire world, and unmonitored by armed forces of any state.

Conclusion

The UK calls upon all nations to remember and maintain the values that the world is constructed around, including that of respecting the sovereignty of a nation and a group of people’s power to decide for themselves. It is to the UK’s belief that the best interest of all lies in adherence for these principles, something that Russia ought to be able to remember and stand by, and something that the Crimean people have a right to retain.