Russia is elevating Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's role to justify its aggression against Ukraine.
"We regret the elevation of the role of Stalin in Russia. It pursues the goal of rehabilitation of a totalitarian state with a single unblemished leader at its head," Kuleba told the United Nations Security Council High-level Arria Formula meeting "75 Years from the End of the Second World War on European Soil" held via video link on Friday, May 8.
"It serves to imitate a sense of regime flawlessness, create an image of an external enemy and justify Moscow's aggression against neighbors, like Ukraine and Georgia, and the hybrid war against many other countries," the top diplomat stressed.
For a short while, Kuleba noted, there was hope that with the UN establishment, the use of force against territorial integrity or political independence of any state would be unimaginable.
"Alas, for some, including one of the UN Security Council permanent members, this commitment does not mean too much. The Russian aggression against Ukraine, which led to the illegal occupation of Crimea and parts of Donbas, is already lasting longer than the Second World War. It resulted in over 13 000 people killed and more than 27000 wounded at the very heart of Europe," the foreign minister stated.
"Disregard for the historical truth and manipulation of the legacy of the WWII bear a striking resemblance of what was happening in Europe in the 1930s of the past century," Kuleba said. "This is a lesson to be learned again."
UNIAN memo. In March 2014, after deploying its troops, Russia occupied the Ukrainian Crimea and began to destabilize Donbas in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Federation has been supplying "DPR" and "LPR" terrorists with weapons, also deploying mercenaries and regular troops to the warzone in Donetsk and Luhansk regions where hostilities have been ongoing since mid-April 2014.
