Maksym Kravchuk
Political Counsellor
Embassy of Ukraine in Finland and
Iceland
As we mark two years since the illegal and unprovoked full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and ten years of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, it becomes increasingly apparent that the global system is growing more volatile and uncertain. Over more than two decades, Russia has aggressively pursued its global role and influence, undermining liberal democratic values and norms. This has included reviving Soviet-style colonial outreach, reshaping the international system into spheres of influence, and in recent years, escalating tensions between the Global East/South and Global West. It's now evident that Russia's genuine goals include the complete destruction of Ukrainian national identity, fragmentation of the international order, and the suppression of rule of law, basic freedoms, and human rights, both domestically and internationally. Should Russia achieve these aims, the world risks descending into an extreme form of anarchy, devoid of rules, order, and effective institutions.
Despite its obligations as a permanent member of the UNSC, Russia has consistently disregarded international norms, including the UN Charter. Over two years, it has utilized all available resources, including deliberate attacks on civilians and Ukraine’s critical infrastructure using missiles and drones, and weaponized global energy and food supplies to incite social disturbances in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Russia has also conducted massive cyber, information, and hybrid operations, including facilitating illegal migration, to destabilize democratic states. Moreover, Russia has abused its power within the UNSC, paralyzing a body tasked with maintaining international peace and security. This highlights a critical flaw in the post-Cold War international system, as witnessed by the attempted annexation of Crimea in 2014 and subsequent lack of international community’s bold response to Russia's aggressive actions.
At present, the international
community confronts three crucial challenges in reinstating a rules-based order:
- Isolating Russia politically and economically to curtail its capacity for aggression.
Ensuring accountability for Russia's war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and crime of aggression.- Providing comprehensive support to Ukraine for full restoration of its territorial integrity, sovereignty, and integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions once the war is over.
A just and lasting peace in Europe hinges upon fulfilling these tasks and demands a holistic vision for shaping the future. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined a comprehensive 10-point Peace Formula at the G20 Summit on November 15, 2022, encompassing vital aspects of the path to peace such as preventing nuclear disaster, restoring food security, ending energy coercion, releasing abductees and POWs, upholding international law, withdrawing Russian troops, restoring justice, tackling Russia’s ecocide against Ukraine, preventing further escalation, and confirming the end of the war. On February 23, 2023, the UN General Assembly adopted the Resolution “Principles of the UN Charter underlying a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine” with 141 votes. This Resolution explicitly echoed the vision outlined by the President of Ukraine in the Peace Formula as a pathway to restore peace.
Russia's aggression against Ukraine represents an imperialistic endeavor aimed at dismantling the rules-based international order. Therefore, the Peace Formula isn't solely focused on securing peace for Ukraine, it also confronts the vulnerabilities inherent in the global system. It stipulates reinforcing the rule of law, reforming international institutions, transitioning to sustainable practices, addressing energy challenges, ensuring food security, and safeguarding environmental integrity. Effective coordination among world leaders is pivotal in achieving a consensus for executing this ambitious agenda. Therefore, broad participation of nations in the Global Peace Summit is crucially required to reach an agreement on the fundamental provisions that will form the basis of a relevant document, to be presented to representatives from Russia.
Ukraine relies on proactive engagement of partners from all continents to spearhead the development and implementation of collective actions for each point of the Peace Formula. This includes intensive dialogue within 10 working groups, regular meetings of the national security and political advisors, high-level thematic conferences and Summit of the heads of states and governments. Ukraine anticipates the guidance and leadership of its Nordic partners across all engagement formats. Finland's exceptional expertise, especially in nuclear safety and combatting ecocide, will be invaluable and much needed.
Collaborative efforts are essential in the restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty, strengthening the international order based on established principles, and jointly shouldering the responsibility for our shared future to prevent catastrophic disorder within the global system.