Ukraine Urges More Pressure on Russia at OSCE Anniversary Summit in Helsinki
During a visit to Helsinki on July 31 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act of the OSCE, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha held bilateral talks with Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, the current OSCE Chair-in-Office, The Gaze reports.
The talks came amid another brutal overnight Russian drone strike on Kyiv, which Sybiha said highlighted the urgent need for greater international pressure on the Kremlin. “We need peace through strength,” Sybiha stated.
“Full diplomatic mobilization of allies, strengthening Ukraine, increasing the cost of war for the aggressor, maintaining a strong position, and engaging America.”
The two diplomats discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, including increased Finnish investment in Ukraine’s defense industry, support for education and civil defense shelters, and Finland’s role in postwar recovery and reconstruction.
Sybiha reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to reforms, including anti-corruption measures and new legislation to safeguard the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions amid wartime security risks.
Speaking at the anniversary event, Sybiha criticized the OSCE’s failure to prevent Russian aggression and proposed a five-step reform plan to break the organization’s current deadlock.
He stressed that Russia has violated all ten core principles of the Helsinki Final Act, and warned of Moscow’s ambitions to expand the war beyond Ukraine, pointing to its growing cooperation with North Korea, Iran, and global mercenaries.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine is not just a hot war in Europe — it’s a global threat,” Sybiha said. He added that the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism, used to investigate Russian war crimes, reflects how far the Russian regime has deteriorated in recent decades.
Sybiha emphasized that Ukraine is working to secure a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace based on the rule of law — not just for Ukraine, but for all of Europe. “Peace, security, and justice in the OSCE region are indivisible. By restoring them in Ukraine, we restore them everywhere,” he said.
As The Gaze previously reported, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has triggered the “Moscow Mechanism” to investigate Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war, following a joint initiative by 41 member states.