Political Quotes

“I wish to recognize Alexander Hug, an exceptional international civil servant who has played a crucial role in ensuring that the world knows the truth about Russia's aggression against Ukraine. This Kremlin-directed war, now entering its 5th year, is responsible for more than 10,300 fatalities and over 24,000 injuries, including as many as 9,000 civilians. It has affected 4.4 million in eastern Ukraine and displaced some 1.8 million people. Mr. Hug, a Swiss national, completed his tour of duty as Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine on October 31. He had served in this position since 2014 and oversaw the mission as it grew from approximately 100 monitors to more than 700. This unarmed civilian mission provides clear, unbiased official reporting from the war zone on ceasefire violations and the human costs of the conflict. It does this despite continuous threats and deliberate attempts to undermine and sabotage its work. The mission's reporting is a crucial counterpoint to the barrage of Kremlin propaganda that seeks to obfuscate the true nature and scale of Russia's role as a direct participant and the aggressor in the war. The mission has not only kept the world informed about the true nature of the war in eastern Ukraine; under Hug's leadership, it has also helped mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe that the war has caused.…”