Ukraine asks Mexico for arms and ammunition to repel Russian invasion

Ukraine’s ambassador to Mexico has delivered a letter to Congress asking the federal government to send arms and ammunition to help repel the invading Russian forces.

Oksana Dramarétska delivered the letter Sunday to Ricardo Monreal, the ruling Morena party’s leader in the Senate.

“Russian troops are attacking peaceful Ukrainian cities from several directions. … This is an act of war, an attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a grave violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of the fundamental norms and principles of international law,” says the letter, which was endorsed by 240 signatures.

“We ask the government of Mexico to break diplomatic relations with Russia, immediately adopt strong economic and financial sanctions against Russia, help the Ukrainian army with arms and ammunition and support the United Nations’ peace maintenance operation,” it says.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard said late last week that Mexico intended to maintain diplomatic relations with Russia.

Mexico has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for an immediate ceasefire but, unlike many countries, hasn’t announced any sanctions on Russia or the Russian government. Mexico officially follows a policy of nonintervention in the affairs of other countries, meaning that it would be highly unlikely to provide arms or ammunition to Ukraine.

Among the sanctions urged in the letter signed by Dramarétska was an embargo on gas and oil trade with Russia.

“We are representatives of different nationalities — Mexican, Ukrainian, Guatemalan and others. We demand help for the Ukrainian people,” the missive says.

“We’re asking that the governments of the world — including the Mexican one — help Ukraine with everything possible to stop the Russian aggression. Not just the very existence of the Ukrainian state but also the security of Europe and the future of the world order depend on our common response.”

Marta Koren, an organizer of the Ukrainian community’s protests against Russia in Mexico City, said it was regrettable that a Mexican Air Force flight that departed Sunday to pick up Mexicans who had fled Ukraine to Romania didn’t carry any humanitarian aid.

“We hope that in the future we can … help Ukraine in a humanitarian way,” she said.

With reports from Reforma