“Russia can be stopped only by force and it poses a direct military threat to Romania, the Republic of Moldova and other countries in the region,” Ihor Prokopchuk, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Romania stated in a special edition of the program EuroAtlantic Objective, which is broadcast weekly by DefenseRomania. 

The head of Ukraine’s diplomatic mission in Romania stressed that the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022 doesn’t have a territorial purpose only. Ukraine is fighting an “existential war”, being in fact only the first victim of the neo-imperialist ambitions of the Russian aggressor.

Ihor Prokopchuk also commented on the statements made by NATO officials and officials of member states regarding the scenario of a possible future high-intensity conflict between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance.

“We are also approaching the tenth anniversary of the moment when Russia invaded Ukrainian territory. Let me remind that the invasion began in February 2014, when Russian forces appeared without any insignia on the Crimean Peninsula. That was the first case of attempted annexation of a country’s territory by another country since World War II,” noted Ihor Prokopchuk.

The ambassador emphasized the seriousness of the violation of international law committed by the Russian Federation ten years ago. They didn’t stop in Crimea, moved to Donbas and began hostilities in the eastern parts of Ukraine. “Eight years later, they started a full-scale invasion of Ukrainian territory,” said Ihor Prokopchuk.

Recently, the Kiev-based Obozrevatel wrote, with reference to a U.S. representative to the OSCE, that the mere existence of Moldova, as well as Poland, Finland, Belarus and Turkey is a “permanent reason for military action” for Russia as all these states contain at least part of the territory that was once controlled by the Russian or Soviet empire.