The new head of the OSCE visited Ukraine for the first time, making key statements during her trip.

Novini.LIVE presents the key statements from ministers.

As of January 1st, Finland has taken over the annual presidency of the OSCE, making the country's Foreign Minister its head. Ukraine became the first country that Valtonen visited officially in her capacity as OSCE chair.

"Finland is chairing the OSCE, and I specifically wanted to visit Ukraine in this role to express our firm support", Valtonen clarified.

Andriy Sibiga reminded that the OSCE was present at last year's World Summit in Switzerland. Overall, the organization must continue to serve as a platform for holding the Russian Federation accountable. Primarily, Ukraine hopes to expand the documentation of Russian crimes, maintain attention on the deportation of children, the capture of civilian hostages, as well as the three OSCE employees, who are Ukrainian citizens and are still held by Russia.

"The OSCE must assess the systematic executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russia and the violations of the Geneva Conventions", Sibiga noted.

He also added that in the new year, Ukraine is recording new elements of Russian aggression. In particular, these include strikes on elements of Ukraine's nuclear energy infrastructure, the involvement of North Korean troops, the use of medium-range ballistic missiles, and deepening cooperation with Iran. Such actions destabilize not only Europe but also the Middle East and Asia, the minister is convinced.

"Security in Europe is impossible without a just and comprehensive peace in Ukraine. However, every action with Russia demonstrates that Moscow seeks not peace but merely the continuation of war. Only the unity of our joint actions can achieve peace through strength", Sibiga assured.

The Finnish Foreign Minister also added that her country is providing robust military, political, and economic support to Ukraine and will continue to do so for as long as necessary.

"We are containing Russian aggression with sanctions, and the shadow fleet is also subject to them. This includes tankers transporting oil products, especially in our regions. We intercepted several vessels during the Christmas period and see that we can establish more legal grounds to better protect maritime infrastructure", Valtonen stated.

She also mentioned that strict sanctions should be imposed on Russia if the investigation proves its guilt in sabotaging the cables between Estonia and Finland.

It is worth noting that Finnish police suspect that the Estonian-Finnish power transmission cable Estlink 2 and four telecommunications cables (three between Estonia and Finland and one between Finland and Germany) were damaged on December 25 by the tanker Eagle S. It was flagged under the Cook Islands, and it is highly likely that it is part of Russia's shadow fleet.

Truth must be established, and the guilty must be held accountable. Our infrastructure has suffered damage, and all these hybrid threats and other attacks in recent months and years show that we stand with Ukraine in the same boat against states that violate international law", Valtonen concluded.

Recall that on Tuesday, January 7, The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Katrin Gunnarssdottir, visited Ukraine. This was her first foreign visit since her recent appointment to this position.

It became known about the level of aid Iceland is providing to official Kyiv under the Security Agreement signed last year, which will continue until 2028.