Ukraine has expressed appreciation to Nigeria and other nations that have stood by her in the ongoing war against Russia who invaded her territory on February 24.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, the Defence Attache to the Embassy of Ukraine in Nigeria, Colonel Andrii Vasyliev, asked for more sanctions against Russia, insisting that Russia is planning chemical attack on Ukraine and has perpetrated war crimes with attacked targeted at children and some women raped by Russian soldiers.
Vasyliev said: “By killing civilians, Russia continues to commit crimes against humanity as defined by the Statute of the International Military Tribunal and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, cynically disregarding all requirements of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. According to these norms, intentional attacks on civilians who are not directly involved in hostilities are equated to war crimes.
“As a result of Russia’s armed aggression in Ukraine, 115 children were killed and more than 140 were injured.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights has been receiving complaints from Ukrainians about sexual crimes committed by the Russian military.”
He said: “Another confirmation of Russia’s preparations for a chemical attack against Ukraine has been found.
“The presence of chemists was detected in the occupation contingent of the Russian Federation. Thus, four days ago, as a result of a battle with Russian troops near Staromlynivka (south of Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk region), a large number of occupiers were killed.
Among the large number of received documents of the Russian militaries the certificate of the officer of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of narrow profile specialization named Aftayev Alexander Viktorovich was found.
“According to the documents, before his death in Ukraine, Aftayev served in 21222 military unit – the Federal Office for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons in the city of Penza. And before serving in the army, he graduated from the “Saratov Military Institute of Biological and Chemical Safety.”
He added that: “Thus, the documents obtained may indicate that Russia is preparing a terrorist attack against Ukraine on the use of chemical weapons.”
He said: “Ukraine is grateful to the world community for its support, financial and military assistance in the war against Russia. Ukraine is also grateful to the Government of Nigeria for supporting on March 2, 2022 the resolution “Aggression against Ukraine”, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly by a majority of its members.
“Ukraine is also grateful to the world community for imposing a powerful package of economic sanctions against the Russian economy, businesses, banking and individuals, which have already significantly affected the domestic economic situation in Russia. The world’s leading countries must tighten sanctions against Russia so that it no longer has any chance of continuing this war.”
He noted that: “Sanctions are needed for Russia to think about how to end this war as soon as possible.”
He said: “The top state leadership of Ukraine will continue its active foreign policy in counteracting military aggression. Thus, the President of Ukraine V. Zelensky holds daily talks with world and European leaders. Various formats of further cooperation are discussed. During these talks, Ukraine is asking Western partners to close the skies to Ukraine, or to provide appropriate modern weapons for self-defence against Russian aircraft and missiles.”
