Russia-Ukraine conflict: Zelenskyy vows to restore Ukrainian control of Crimea

The Russian-annexed region of Crimea is a key part of Moscow’s continued invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed that Crimea would be brought back under Ukrainian control.

Speaking at the Crimea Platform, an international conference that aims to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity and end Russia’s annexation of the region, Zelenskyy pledged to restore Ukrainian control over Crimea. Zelenskyy cited that regaining control of the peninsula that Russia seized in 2014 would be the biggest “anti-war step” that would help re-establish law and order.

“It all began with Crimea, and it will end with Crimea,” said Zelenskyy in his opening remarks at the event that had representatives of over 60 countries and international organizations, including around 40 presidents and prime ministers. While nearly all were present online, Polish Prime Minister Andrzej Duda was at the event in person.

“It is necessary to liberate Crimea from occupation…This will be the resuscitation of world law and order,” said Zelenskyy.

Duda also urged his counterparts not to look the other way to Russian aggression and that there could not be a return to business as usual with Russia. Duda echoed that Crimea is a part of Ukraine, as many countries have by not recognizing Russia’s annexation of the region.

There is no sign that Russia plans to abandon Crimea, where its Black Sea fleet is located. Russia has also used Crimea to launch missile strikes on Ukrainian targets. Moscow has also denied the allegations of human rights abuses in Crimea and claimed that a referendum showed that residents of Crimea want to be part of Russia.

A US official said Tuesday that Washington plans to announce a new security aid package for Ukraine of $3 billion as soon as Wednesday, in line with Ukraine’s independence day.

The new package would use funds from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which was approved by Congress, to allow the Biden administration to obtain weapons from the industry instead of taking weapons from its existing stockpile.

The official said the new aid does not appear to include weapons that were previously already provided to the Ukrainian military. However, the official noted that the new aid package would be focused on ammunition and defense systems.