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Polish FM calls Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ‘crime against humanity’

The OSCE chairman said it was "deplorable and shameful" that Russia revoked Article 51 of the UN Charter "to justify this crime against humanity.
Valentyn Ogirenko/PAP/EPA

Zbigniew Rau, the Polish foreign minister and currently the chairman of the Organisation for the Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), has called Russia’s full-scale attack against Ukraine a “crime against humanity”.

Early on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country’s armed forces to start “a special military operation” against Ukraine, which turned out to be a mass attack from air, land and sea, a scenario that the West had feared and unsuccessfully tried to avert for months.

“The Russian unprovoked all-out invasion against Ukrainian cities and villages constitutes a fundamental breach of the UN Charter and Helsinki Final Act,” Rau said in a video posted on Twitter on Thursday.

The OSCE chairman said it was “deplorable and shameful” that Russia revoked Article 51 of the UN Charter “to justify this crime against humanity.

“We condemn, in the strongest possible words, this act of aggression,” Rau continued. “We expect the Russian side to honour its international obligations and commitments.

“Any sustainable political solution must fully respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine,” Rau said.

Article 51 of the UN Charter speaks of a country’s right to self-defence in the event of external attack.

In his address to @oscepa, @OSCE Chairman-in-Office, FM @RauZbigniew condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.#OSCE2022POL pic.twitter.com/mECkH84W0Q

— Polish OSCE Chairmanship 2022 (@PLinOSCE) February 24, 2022

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