Ukraina Ülemraada avalduse edastamine seoses Ukraina põhiseaduse vastuvõtmise 30. aastapäevaga

Unofficial translation

APPEAL

of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the parliaments and governments of the

democratic states of the world, international organizations and their

interparliamentary assemblies on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the

adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine

Marking, on 28 June 2026, the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the

Constitution of Ukraine — the Basic Law of Ukraine, which laid the foundation of

the modern democratic, law-based and social state, and affirmed the independence

and sovereignty of Ukraine as a full-fledged member of the international

community,

emphasizing that, in accordance with the Constitution, Ukraine is a unitary

state with a republican form of government, in which the human being, his or her

life and health, honour and dignity, inviolability and security are recognized as the

highest social value,

underscoring that the Constitution of Ukraine became an important factor in

the restoration of independence and the strengthening of the sovereignty of our

country, defined the foundations for the organization of the state and society, and

over three decades has proven its viability, becoming a reliable guide for the

formation of the legal system, the implementation of democratic transformations,

and European and Euro-Atlantic integration. Constitutional rights and freedoms —

freedom of speech, freedom of worldview and religion, the right to a fair trial, and

the principle of equality of everyone before the law — remain inviolable even amid

the most severe trials caused by the armed aggression of the russian federation

against Ukraine,

stating that Ukraine is currently living through the most tragic period of its

modern history — its confrontation with the unprecedented armed aggression of

the russian federation, which began with the temporary occupation of the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as parts of the

Donetsk and Luhansk regions, back in 2014 and escalated into a full-scale armed

invasion on 24 February 2022. For more than 12 consecutive years, the Ukrainian

people have been heroically defending the independence, territorial integrity,

constitutional order and fundamental values on which our state is built, and have

been protecting the security architecture of the European continent,

affirming that the armed aggression of the russian federation constitutes a

gross violation of the Charter of the United Nations, the Helsinki Final Act of the

Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Memorandum on Security

Assurances in connection with Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (the Budapest Memorandum), and other

international legal obligations undertaken by the russian federation. The war of

conquest unleashed by the russian federation against Ukraine is not only an assault

on the sovereignty of one state, but also a challenge to the international legal order,

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the system of collective security, and the fundamental principles of coexistence

among peoples,

underscoring that the russian federation has failed to achieve any strategic

objective of its aggressive war against Ukraine, and emphasizing that the aggressor

state, having lost more than 1.3 million servicemen, still shows no signs of readiness

for peace. It has not abandoned its attempts to subjugate the Ukrainian people,

continues to intensify militarization, involve foreign soldiers in the war, including

from the korean democratic people’s republic, finance its war machine by

supporting authoritarian regimes, and evade restrictive measures through third

countries,

once again drawing attention to the unprecedented crimes committed by the

aggressor state in Ukraine — tens of thousands of civilians have been killed or

wounded, and about 317,000 civilian infrastructure facilities have been destroyed

or damaged,

highlighting the deliberate destruction by the russian federation of sites of

Ukraine’s cultural and spiritual heritage: as a result of shelling and hostilities, more

than 1,783 cultural heritage monuments have to date been damaged, 45 of which

have been completely destroyed; in particular, sites included in the UNESCO World

Heritage List under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural

and Natural Heritage have been affected; 2,540 cultural heritage sites have been

damaged, of which 518 have been completely destroyed,

recalling once again that, as a result of the criminal actions of the russian

federation, about 800 religious buildings and structures have been destroyed or

damaged, among them monuments of national and local significance. More than

80 Ukrainian clergy of various denominations have died at the hands of the

occupiers. In the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, the russian federation

systematically violates citizens’ rights to freedom of worldview and religion by

persecuting clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Ukrainian

Greek Catholic Church, and Protestant, Muslim and other religious communities,

emphasizing that the russian federation is attempting to deprive Ukraine of

its future through the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, carried out by

separating children from their families or lawful guardians, forcibly changing the

legal status and citizenship of children, and subjecting them to militarization and

indoctrination, which are signs of genocide. Ukrainian children forcibly transferred

and illegally deported by the russian federation require further coordinated

international efforts to return them to Ukraine,

recalling that, according to admissions by russian officials, more than 700,000

Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken to the territory of the russian

federation. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for the

russian dictator vladimir putin and the russian commissioner for children’s rights

maria lvova-belova for war crimes related to the illegal deportation of Ukrainian

children. Thanks to the persistent work of Ukraine and its international partners, as

of 27 May 2026, 2,191 Ukrainian children had been returned home, yet thousands

of other children still remain in the captivity of the aggressor state,

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underscoring that freedom of speech and the right of access to information

are fundamental to the democratic development of a state, and recalling that,

according to the Institute of Mass Information, the russian federation has

committed more than 900 crimes against media workers in Ukraine; since the

beginning of the full-scale armed invasion of Ukraine, 147 journalists have been

killed, 21 of whom died while performing their professional duties, and at least 28

Ukrainian journalists remain in russian captivity,

condemning the ongoing occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant,

including the detention, torture and disappearance of civilians, in particular the

plant’s personnel and residents of the city of Enerhodar, and emphasizing that

holding employees of a strategic nuclear facility as hostages is a serious violation

of international humanitarian law,

stating that, despite the armed aggression of the russian federation, our state

remains committed to constitutional principles and democratic values. Even under

martial law, Ukraine fully complies with international standards for the protection

of human rights and freedom of worldview and religion. In particular, in 2021, the

Law of Ukraine “On the Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine” was adopted, under which

the Crimean Tatars, Karaites and Krymchaks are recognized as indigenous peoples

of Ukraine and the protection of their identity, language and culture is guaranteed;

in 2023, the Law of Ukraine “On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine”

entered into force, becoming the basic legal act regulating the rights, freedoms and

obligations of persons belonging to the country’s ethnic communities; and in 2025,

Ukraine became the second state in the world, after the United States, to introduce

at the legislative level a National Day of Prayer as a symbol of the spiritual unity of

the nation,

affirming that Ukraine continues to fulfil its international obligations in the

field of human rights protection and consistently advocates on the international

stage for the need to uphold the principle of the rule of law, protect the rights of

national minorities, and ensure freedom of worldview and religion. For the first time

in history, Ukraine was elected to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues;

our state is an active member of the International Religious Freedom or Belief

Alliance, which brings together 43 states of the world,

underscoring that the armed aggression of the russian federation against

Ukraine poses a threat to global security, and that appeasement of the military and

political leadership of the russian federation may become a dangerous precedent

of impunity, undermine the foundations of international law, and create the risk of

similar acts of aggression being repeated in other regions of the world. Ukraine is

fighting not only for its own freedom, as it is defending the values of democracy,

the rule of law and human rights for all of Europe and the world,

affirming that a component of restoring a comprehensive, just and lasting

peace for Ukraine is compensation for the damage and losses caused by the

internationally wrongful acts of the russian federation in or against Ukraine, in

particular the completion of the establishment of an international compensation

mechanism. In 2026, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Convention on the

Establishment of an International Claims Commission for Ukraine,

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emphasizing that the Ukrainian people have proven their commitment to

constitutional principles even in the most difficult times, defending the right to a

dignified life in a free, democratic and independent state,

the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, on behalf of the Ukrainian people, appeals to

the parliaments and governments of the democratic states of the world,

international organizations and their interparliamentary assemblies with the call to:

continue comprehensive political, economic, military and humanitarian

support for Ukraine in its resistance to the full-scale armed aggression of the

russian federation, and provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons systems, air

defence systems and ammunition for effective protection against russian terror,

including by expanding the U.S. and NATO initiative “Prioritized Ukraine

Requirements List” (PURL) and the European Union instrument “Security Action for

Europe” (SAFE);

support efforts aimed at restoring a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for

Ukraine, based on compliance with the norms of international law, in particular

respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized

border, including its territorial sea;

strengthen sanctions pressure on key sectors of the economy of the russian

federation, its “shadow fleet”, and its energy and military-industrial complexes,

through the imposition of personal restrictive measures against the military and

political leadership of the russian federation for the crime of genocide of the

Ukrainian people, war crimes and crimes against humanity, mass violations of

human rights in Ukraine, as well as against the hierarchy of the russian orthodox

church for facilitating armed aggression against Ukraine, and support Ukraine’s

efforts aimed at bringing to justice all those responsible for the aforementioned

crimes;

facilitate the establishment and functioning of the Special Tribunal for the

Crime of Aggression against Ukraine and a mechanism for compensation through

frozen russian assets, join the instruments of the international compensation

mechanism, and ratify the Convention on the Establishment of an International

Claims Commission for Ukraine;

support the activities of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian

Children and facilitate the consolidation of international efforts aimed at ensuring

the urgent, unconditional and safe return to Ukraine of all illegally deported and

forcibly transferred Ukrainian children, their reunification with their families, and

the restoration of their rights;

recognize the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children as an act of genocide

and support bringing those responsible to international criminal liability;

increase international pressure on the russian federation in order to put an

end to the persecution of citizens of Ukraine in the temporarily occupied territory

of Ukraine on religious and confessional grounds;

support Ukraine’s initiatives aimed at the de-occupation of all its territory

temporarily occupied by the russian federation;

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facilitate the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, including through the

implementation of recovery programmes with the involvement of international

financial institutions and the system of specialized agencies of the United Nations;

guarantee Ukraine a clear and irreversible prospect of membership in the

European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as the most reliable

and long-term guarantee of security and sustainable development.

The Constitution of Ukraine is a symbol of the independence, freedom and

European choice of the Ukrainian people. It unites millions of Ukrainians — those

defending their native land at the front, those saving lives and rebuilding destroyed

cities, those forced to leave their homes as a result of the armed aggression of the

russian federation, and those awaiting liberation in the temporarily occupied

territory of Ukraine.

We believe that justice will prevail, the aggressor will be punished, and Ukraine

will restore peace and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized

borders, including its territorial sea. We remain committed to immutable

constitutional values and will continue to build a democratic, law-based and social

state for our descendants and for our territory.

We express our gratitude to all States, their parliaments and governments,

international organizations, and all peoples of the world who support Ukraine in

this pivotal time. Your solidarity inspires us, your assistance saves lives, and your

principled stance protects the international legal order.

Glory to Ukraine!