By: UKOM
Following yesterday’s military attack by the Russian Federation on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, in which the Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia was destroyed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs re-summoned Russian Ambassador Timur Eyvazov. State Secretary Gašper Dovžan handed over the diplomatic note of protest of the Republic of Slovenia to the Ambassador of the Russian Federation requesting an apology and compensation for the damage suffered.
Slovenia expresses its condemnation of yesterday’s intolerable act and military aggression of the Russian Federation against the sovereign state in the strongest terms. It is a gross violation of international law and human rights, while the destruction of civilian targets is a war crime. Slovenia will use all diplomatic means at its disposal to express its opposition to these actions. Among other things, Slovenia will inform the secretaries-general of international organisations, such as the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe and NATO, about this unacceptable act, and will also back the investigation into the situation in Ukraine of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague Karim Khan and invite other member states to give their support.
The Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia with its headquarters in the administrative building in the central square was destroyed during the attack on the Kharkiv city centre, which is also the site of numerous residential buildings. Honorary Consul Anatoly Bondarenko was not injured in the attack and is safe.