Statement on Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

I issue this statement as party leader of the Talossan National Congress, as Senator of Florencia, and simply as a Talossan citizen. Should any member of the TNC be unsettled by this statement then I ask sincerely for understanding.

In recent hours, Talossans of Ukrainian origin have had the horrendous experience to hear the sounds of air raid sirens followed by the whirring of incoming missiles. They and their families, who have for years, faced down panic and terror at the threats of aggression from their neighbor must now face terrible choices. Do we leave for security elsewhere? Or do we stay, at great risk to ourselves and our families, and defend the land of our forebearers? Let's be clear, these decisions have been forced upon them by circumstances created entirely by one despot: Vladimir Putin.

Over the past two decades, the kleptocratic, autocratic, and lawless regime of Vladimir Putin has been a scourge to any efforts to honor individual human dignity, to nurture open and free societies, and to secure an international system that is rules-based not might-based. He has immiserated his own people while enriching himself and his friends. And, from Georgia to Syria, the international community has repeatedly failed to ensure Putin and his cronies pay a cost for their actions.

Ukrainians, like Talossans, yearn to be free. In this moment, Ukrainians need the support of the international community to defend their freedoms. The Talossan National Congress calls on the United Nations, the European Union and allied nations and groups to implement a maximalist policy with respect to sanctions and support for Ukraine's ability to defend themselves. These and other necessary actions are not a gift to the Ukrainian people they are the responsibility, particularly, of nations who are signatories to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. I demand these nations, in particular, keep their promises. I demand that this rising wave of authoritarianism and the continuous impunity of Putin finally be checked.

There are Talossans of varying origins who are also on the frontiers of democracy (Taiwan, the Philippines) who are watching the tanks approach and the missiles fall in Kharkiv, Mariupol, Lviv and Kyiv. They know that this could be not just a tragic story from a place far away but a menacing portent of an unwelcome future.

Let Talossa speak with one voice that the right of self-determination is inviolable. And that we must create a world where it is not the might of arms but the might of right and the rules that governs.

Breneir Tzaracomprada
Leader, Talossan National Congress
Senator of Florencia

[Caleb Frenibuerg]

Well said. I'm absolutely appalled at the behavior displayed by Vladimir Putin.

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

Well said. I'm absolutely appalled at the behavior displayed by Vladimir Putin.

Thank you S:reu Frenibuerg. I am nothing short of inspired by the bravery and forgive my french, badassery, of Ukrainians.