Estonian President: In Ukraine there is a war, not a frozen conflict
The Press Service of Office of the President of Estonia has reported that Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid called for consideration of the conflict in eastern Ukraine as a war. Kaljulaid, who visited the combat zone in the Donbas last week, said this on June 1st at a dinner for participants of the 12th annual Lennart Meri Conference.
"In Ukraine, during the last week alone, four people, including a 15-year-old girl, have been killed in shellings, and another 15 people have been wounded. That's not a frozen conflict – that's war," Kaljulaid said.
She also noted the significant progress made by Ukraine.
"But all can be lost if we forget. If we ignore. If we offer no hope of a better future. If we put our economic interests first and our values at the second place. Or simply, feeling our powerlessness, trying to make it look like as there is no war going on for the fourth year already, here in Europe," the Estonian president said.
She recalled that this year marks ten years since the West "has not been able to do much" regarding the partial occupation of Georgian territories. "We carefully tread the words, calling the evil line of occupation in Georgia something else," Kaljulaid said. She called for giving Georgia recognition that part of their territory was occupied.
On May 24, the Press Service of the Ukrainian Joint Force Operation Headquarters reported that Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid was the first leader of a foreign country to visit the Donbas and line of demarcation.
The armed conflict in the Donbas has continued since the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of giving armed support to separatists. The Kremlin rejects these accusations and claims that only Russian "volunteers" may be present in the Donbas. According to the UN, over 10,000 people have died in the conflict.