Ukraine voiced support for the Iranian people amid an escalation in the region and accused Tehran’s leadership of terror and repression, the Foreign Ministry (MFA) said in a statement published Saturday, February 28.
“The Iranian regime, which has mocked the Iranian people for decades, has unleashed a sweeping policy of violence against its own citizens and other countries. This includes mass human rights violations at home, support for militants who brought chaos to other countries in the region, and direct military support for the aggressor state, Russia, in its unprovoked war of conquest against Ukraine. We remember and will never forget the strikes by thousands of Shahed drones on our peaceful cities and people,” the statement reads.
Such cooperation between the regimes in Moscow and Tehran is a gross violation of international law and undermines global efforts to restore peace and stability, the MFA added.
Years of systematic human rights abuses, brutal repression, executions and persecution of dissidents in Iran point to a deep crisis in the country’s domestic policy and a lack of proper protection for basic rights and freedoms, the ministry said.
“The regime has spent colossal resources on violence, killings and chaos, rather than on providing for its own people, whose economic situation has worsened year after year. As the President of Ukraine has repeatedly emphasized, the Iranian regime should have gone a long time ago,” the diplomats said.
The ministry said the current events stem from the regime’s violence and arbitrariness, including killings and repression against peaceful protesters that have grown markedly in recent months.
Kyiv believes Tehran had every opportunity to prevent a military scenario. It was offered avenues for diplomacy and solutions, but the regime ignored those efforts and instead dragged out time in hopes of misleading the international community, the statement said.
“We reaffirm our unwavering position: we wish security, prosperity and freedom to the Iranian people, and stability and prosperity to the Middle East. We thank everyone around the world who has stood and continues to stand with the Iranian people in this difficult time,” the MFA concluded.
Earlier Saturday, Israel and the United States carried out strikes on Iran. The Israelis called the operation Roaring Lion, while the Americans dubbed it Epic Fury.
Later, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the United States had begun military action against Iran. He said Iran would never obtain nuclear weapons, its missile industry would be leveled, and its navy destroyed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a statement, saying Israel and the United States had decided to eliminate the existential threat posed by Iran’s regime.
In response, Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel and at U.S. bases in the Middle East.
