“Russia will pay for this.”
This is the message from Ukraine’s ambassador to SA, Liubov Abravitova, to Russian President Vladimir Putin as Ukraine celebrates Independence Day on the six-month anniversary of its invasion by Russia.
Speaking to TimesLIVE Premium, Abravitova said: “We believe that under pressure from international society, we will force Russia to pay for everything that they have damaged or destroyed, sooner or later. They will pay for what they have done.”
Since the war broke out in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa has held several discussions with world leaders including Putin, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Joe Biden of the US to discuss the need for humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine as well as the devastating effect the war has had on the African continent.
SA was initially criticised for abstaining during a UN General Assembly vote to condemn Russia. One of the reasons for Ramaphosa's engagements was to explain to world leaders why SA had taken a non-aligned position on the matter.
In April SA also abstained from a UN General Assembly vote that sought to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. Ramaphosa and Ramaphosa's cabinet hold the view that the war can be ended through negotiations.
Abravitova says Independence Day in Ukraine this year coincides with the six-month anniversary of the invasion “and so I believe that this independence means a lot for the Ukrainians because today we are fighting directly for this independence”.
“This is why we should consider it the most important one in history. The very first one was when we re-established our independence and now we are fighting a full-scale invasion. It’s important,” she said.
She called for continued support for Ukraine.
“We are all really sad to see a country that is partly destroyed, suffered shelling and where the economy has been destroyed. We need the support of the international community to not only rebuild Ukraine after our victory but also to support us politically and condemn Russia.
“We now have 21% of the country under the Russian invasion [but] they cannot go further because Ukraine is resisting.”
Attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have so far failed, she said.
Abravitova appealed to the international community to make a united call to Russia to end its invasion and restore peace in Ukraine.
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