Former Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov speaks to The Guardian about the Russia – Georgian war 2008.

“Impunity for Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 brought about its occupation of Crimea in 2014; impunity for the occupation of Crimea led to the occupation of Donbas; impunity for the occupation of Donbas allowed for Russia’s aggressive intervention in Syria; impunity for Syria and inattention to events in Crimea and Donbas resulted in the full-scale war in Ukraine – with hundreds of thousands killed, millions of refugees and humanitarian and ecological disasters.

Do we want this list of suffering to be extended?

You have to realise that you are responsible for the entire future of humanity; that is why it is vital that you act decisively. Russia and its partners have challenged not just the independence and sovereignty of one European country, but the entire world order – including international law and humanitarian and security institutions. Whether the civilised world will be able to avert a third world war will depend on its response to Russia’s actions and how the war in Ukraine ends”, - said Oleksii Reznikov.