June 23, 2017

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“The United States notes with regret that the June 1 renewed ceasefire commitment, timed to coincide with International Children’s Day, did not last even a full day. The SMM [Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] reported 162 explosions and ceasefire violations throughout the evening of June 1 and into the morning of June 2.

“Three years after Russia initiated this conflict, civilians continue to suffer. On the first day of June, a man and two women waiting at a bus stop in central Avdiyivka were gravely injured by an explosion; all three remain hospitalized. On June 5, the SMM reported that shrapnel from an artillery shell killed a mother and wounded her 9-year old son; the boy remains hospitalized.[…] Artillery attacks on critical infrastructure carried out by Russian-led separatists ensure civilians remain on the cusp of a humanitarian crisis….

“As if it was not enough to kill and maim in war-torn eastern Ukraine, Russian abuses also take the form of politically motivated prosecutions, even against librarians. A Russian court sentenced Natalia Sharina to a four-year suspended sentence under fabricated charges including ‘inciting national hatred’ and embezzlement for not purging books by renowned Ukrainian authors. Several well-respected human rights groups believe Ms. Sharina – head librarian of the state-run Library of Ukrainian Literature in Moscow – was targeted as part of an effort to close a facility housing books donated by the Ukrainian diaspora….

“The United States continues to fully support Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. We will never recognize Russia’s purported annexation of Crimea. We join our European and other partners in affirming that our sanctions against Russia will remain in place until Russia fully implements its Minsk commitments, and our separate, Crimea-related sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns full control of the peninsula to Ukraine.”

– U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Kate Byrnes, speaking on June 8 at a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as cited by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in its Daily Briefing.

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