WHAT PUTIN DOES NOT GET

The world will never accept the idea that the imperial ambitions of bullies and tyrants should outweigh the sovereign rights of U.N. member states.  And that's why  there are some 50 nations of goodwill from around the world that stand-up, united for Ukraine's right to defend itself.

Ukraine's fight is one of the great causes of our time.  It's not just a fight for the survival of one embattled democracy, it's also a fight for a world where autocrats cannot just rewrite borders by force.  It's a fight to avoid a grim new era of chaos and tyranny, and it's a fight for a world where rules are upheld and rights are protected and aggression is punished.

The so-called rules-based international order, has been critical to preventing great power war in the European continent for 80 years, since the end of World War II. Rooted in that international order is a critical principle.  It's actually its first principle - that every nation, no matter its size or power, has an innate right to sovereignty and self-determination.  And countries cannot be allowed to change international borders with military force and they cannot attack other countries unless in self-defense.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is an unprovoked war of aggression against a country that posed no military threat to Russia.  It is a blatant and illegal violation of international norms, and it is literally a frontal assault on the very principles that all of our countries pledged to support eight decades ago.

The end goal remains crystal-clear.  Support Ukraine until Putin's unwarranted, illegal and ruinous war of choice comes to an end. Our commitment to Ukraine as a free, independent and sovereign nation, with its territory intact, remains as ironclad as ever.

Nations across the world have come together to support Ukraine in their fight for sovereignty against this unprovoked aggression, and that commitment is not just about the present, it also sets a precedent for the future in other parts of the world, a beacon for other nations and a clear message to any adversaries that the rule of law will always triumph over the rule of force, as light always triumphs over the darkness.