The numbers are still going up. Some 13 million people have left their homes in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. Over five million are still outside the country. Over six million have been internally displaced in Ukraine.
These are ordinary people, children and adults, the inhabitants of a country which is a close friend and ally of both Serbia and the United Kingdom. Only a few months ago, they lived their everyday lives, and now they are facing an uncertain and terrifying future.
The numbers are disturbing. However, even worse numbers can already be discerned. The effects of this pointless conflict reach far beyond the Ukrainian borders and shores. Millions of people around the world could face hunger as a direct consequence of the disrupted agricultural production and diminishing food supplies.
Before the Russian invasion in February, Ukraine was one of the largest exporters of crops and edible oil, exporting crops that fed hundreds of millions of people across the world. Since then, the prices have risen steeply, and the supply chains have been seriously disrupted. The Kremlin shells the civilian infrastructure, including farms, and blocks the ports, preventing Ukraine from exporting most of its products.
The UN Secretary General's report warns of an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution. The World Food Programme estimates that the number of people facing an acute shortage of food this year as a result of the conflict may increase by 47 million.
The success of the efforts made by the UN to re-establish crop exports and open up the commercial routes of maritime transport will be of key importance. Ukraine is a sovereign, independent state, which Russia recognizes as such too.
Under the international law and obligations, it has the right to defend itself and decide on its future. It has the right to choose its leaders and alliances. Human rights and basic freedoms must be guaranteed to its people.
No spurious analogies with Peter the Great or revisions of history can justify this unprovoked attack. Churches, schools, hospitals, homes, war monuments – nothing is sacred or protected anymore. The levels of death, destruction, and displacement in Europe in the 21st century are inconceivable.
No one should be fooled by Moscow's narrative, which keeps changing.
There has never been any military threat against Russia, or any kind of "neo-Nazi regime" in Kyiv, or any threat of "genocide" against those speaking Russian. Putin ordered this war in pursuit of an anachronistic fantasy of an imperial expansion and the destruction of a national identity that poses no threat to Russia. It has become clear that his goal is to wipe off the map a country of 44 million people.
The people of Ukraine have their place on this map, as well as the right to stay on it. They deserve help. This is why countries like the United Kingdom and Serbia, but also citizens around the world, have provided billions as part of the humanitarian and economic support.
Nonetheless, the only way for the people of Ukraine to return safely to their homes and start to rebuild their lives, their country, and the future of their children, is the end of the Moscow invasion.
This is the reason why so many countries, including a huge majority of the European countries, have decided to stop the sources of financing and support of the Kremlin war machine, including the imposing of sanctions and travel bans.
We hope that Serbia will join us. Russia's activities serve no other interest but the very narrow ambitions of a single man.
This op-ed was authored by the UK Ambassador to Serbia Sian Macleod
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