USA in OSCE: "Children" sign near Mariupol drama theater could be seen from space
The U.S. Mission to the OSCE drew attention to the anniversary of the Russian crime of bombing the Mariupol Drama Theater and the ninth anniversary of the illegal attempt to annex Crimea and establish a repressive regime on the peninsula.
This took place during a regular meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Ukrinform.
"It is one year since Russia bombed a Ukrainian theater in Mariupol, despite the fact that the word 'children' was clearly written in Russian outside the building, not once but twice, and in such large letters that they could be read from space. Evidence indicates that more than 600 people, including many children, died as a result of this attack," said Deputy Chief of Mission to the OSCE Courtney Ostrien in her speech.
The American diplomat reminded that nine years ago this week, the Kremlin reacted to Ukraine's decision to choose an independent path and establish closer ties with the EU and the transatlantic community "by invading and seizing Crimea in violation of the UN Charter and the principles of the Helsinki Final Act."
"Since then, the authorities established by Russia in Crimea have been repressing Crimean Tatars, Jehovah's Witnesses, ethnic Ukrainians and all those who oppose the Russian occupation. The Crimean Tatar people have faced the most brutal Russian repression. They have endured an endless stream of raids on mosques, homes and workplaces. The leaders of the Crimean Tatar community have been expelled from the peninsula, their media outlets have been closed, and their peaceful self-governing bodies have been criminalized as "extremist organizations," Ostrien said.
She added that these abuses continue to be a daily reality in Crimea, and hundreds of people have been imprisoned simply for expressing their opposition to Russian aggression.
"As we have seen, the Kremlin's willingness to disregard international principles in one place rarely stops there. This is what Russia's actions in Crimea taught us... Since 2014, we have seen the Kremlin use its brutal Crimean scenario in other parts of Ukraine," said the Deputy Chief of Mission to the OSCE.
In this regard, she emphasized that the United States "will continue to affirm the obvious fact that Crimea is Ukraine, just as Donetsk and Luhansk are Ukraine, and just as any other part of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders is Ukraine."
According to Ostrien, this was the US position in 2014, and it remains the same today, almost a decade later.
