In this changing world it is important to keep the focus of the international community on Ukraine.
One of the key issues during the World Economic Forum is security. Therefore, the Ukrainian Breakfast in Davos was an important complement to the core WEF security discussion as Russian aggression towards Ukraine is an unprecedented breach of international law and danger to the democratic world.
As a Ukrainian member of parliament I am developing an energy security concept for Ukraine. As a Ukrainian citizen, I am thinking about how to stop Russian aggression against my country.
My speech during the breakfast was about why Ukraine is so important, strong and deserves not to be betrayed.
Why is Ukraine important?
We are working on an energy security sustainability concept for Ukraine — drafting the strategy and energy security law. The well-developed energy infrastructure makes Ukraine an important player in regional energy security. Ukraine is the key gas transit country in the European Union, with a powerful gas transportation system that is a potential gas hub. We have four nuclear power plants and untapped potential for renewables. Moreover, Ukraine has a great capacity in agriculture, IT, metallurgy and other industries which make our country unique at the center of Europe.
Why is Ukraine strong?
Russian aggression has made Ukraine stronger. We used to live insecurely, in austerity and volatility. People have now suffered too much to surrender. Since the Russian invasion in 2014, Ukraine experienced a deep economic recession and a social catastrophe as well as energy poverty. Some 10,000 people have been killed in Russia’s war, 1.5 million people are internally displaced, 10 percent of the country is occupied, the economy has suffered a 16 percent drop in gross domestic product and 7 million households receive subsidies. This makes our state fragile and our economy weak.
The state is facing a non-declared, hybrid war against a Russian aggressor that uses troops, cyber warfare, media lies and distortions, dishonest diplomacy and energy as weapons. All these methods are being deployed with the aim of destroying the Ukrainian state.
But the attacks only make people stronger. Now the government has stabilized the economy, restored the army and enjoys powerful support in the democratic world. The hardest times are in the past, yet much effort is needed to achieve a sustainable peace.
Why does Ukraine deserve not to be betrayed?
At the same time, Ukraine is undergoing a significant transformation. We have changed a lot. There is visible progress with reforms and, what is more important, people are different. Inspired by the Revolution of Dignity that drove President Viktor Yanukovych from power on Feb. 22, 2014, the Ukrainian people believe in their values. There is a big cluster of civil society activists and young politicians intolerant of corruption.
Thousands of Ukrainians lost their lives for the European values of peace, dignity and human rights. EU integration is the target and a good benchmark for our policy. Crimea is part of Ukraine. We will not trade of our territories. It could cause not only internal protests but also dangerous external precedent for the potential aggressors who are not going to stop.
We can win the war together
The existing security agenda doesn’t provide us with reliable guarantees of our sovereignty. We see this with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which simply does not work. Ukraine needs new security guarantees. And we should think how to secure world order when agreements and traditional means are not functioning. NATO, regional security alliances, energy alliances, what else? Confidence. We need confidence that Ukrainians will not be alone in this fight.
There are more and more Black Swans appearing at the horizon of the modern world. It is better to unite to stop the cancer of regional conflicts, loss of confidence and populism.
Ukraine is ready to be part of the solution and not to be part of the problem, but as an ally in the fight — the subject of negotiation, but not the object of trade.
