• Human rights defenders Ukraine 

The decision to send Russian troops to Ukraine is a crime. A crime not only against Ukraine, but also against Russia, against Russian culture and Russian history, against their inseparable link with the history and culture of Ukraine.  It is a crime against both our countries.

The pretext for sending troops is given as a 'threat to the lives of our compatriots'.

We know from experience of the past that this is the usual pretext for aggression. This pretext is false.

On the contrary, sending troops will create a threat for our compatriots: they will be perceived as representing an aggressor.

It is not too late to reconsider.

Board of International Memorial Society

1 March 2014