The war criminals who initiated and supported the Russian aggression against Ukraine will be punished and Russia will pay considerably for its crimes, chairman of the Association of Historians of the Republic of Moldova Anatol Petrencu, doctor habilitate of history, stated in a debate hosted by IPN.
The historian said that Ukraine is obliged to defend itself from Russia’s aggression and leads a war within the limits of civilized rules. Ukraine’s defense war is just and this will bring its success, while Russian army, which is considered the second army in the world, failed. The involvement of the West is essential in achieving this desideratum and the first steps in this regard have been already taken. At the G7 meeting that involved the Ukrainian president, Russia was declared a terrorist state.
“The G7 members drew a conclusion - that the war will end in Ukraine when this will have the borders of 1991, that Ukraine’s security will be ensured by providing it with tanks. It could also be accepted into NATO. Russia will have to pay reparations and Putin should be held accountable,” stated Anatol Petrencu.
He noted the Western justice ministers will come together to establish an International Tribunal for punishing the war criminals, who are not forgiven. Israel didn’t forgive the war criminals and found them everywhere in the word for being assassinated. Russia now uses the same methods as those used during World War II.
Anatol Petrencu considers the Russians aim to build the Russian world starting from the former Soviet republics and to then go towards the former Socialist states as Vladimir Putin not only once stated that Russia does not have borders. Similar to Molotov, who said that Poland was a creature of the West and was therefore conquered together with Germany, now Putin and the Russian propaganda say that Ukraine and the people of Ukraine do not exist and that this country is a creature of the West.
According to the historian, Russia, as a state, violated its own commitments undertaken earlier by the signed border treaties.
“After World War II, wise persons of Europe came together to discuss how to avoid wars. They reached the conclusion that the wars start because the borders are not recognized. After a lot of discussions, a Final Act was signed in 1975 in Helsinki by 33 states and then by others, including the U.S. and Canada. In that document, the state leaders stipulated that the borders cannot be changed by force, if only by consent. The leader of the USSR Brezhnev also signed that agreement and was conferred the highest military award for this. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the borders of the USSR were recognized by the West and by the Russian Federation. When we speak about Russia’s war in Ukraine, we must bear in mind that Russia, as the lawful heir of the USSR, bears responsibility for what is signed in 1975. Under Yeltsin, Russia also signed a treaty by which it recognized the borders, including of Ukraine,” he stated.
Referring to the United States’ actions, Anatol Petrencu said that he does not question the fact that the UN has good intentions towers Ukraine, but it does not have instruments to stop the war in fact. “The exclusion of Russia from the UN is now being considered and this is an intricate issue. It is easier to establish a new organization than to violate its statutes,” he noted.
The debate entitled “Common roots of World War II and of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine” was the first installment of the series “Impact of the Past on Confidence and Peace Building Processes” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
