DA leader John Steenhuisen will soon be in Western Ukraine where he is expected to embark on a six-day tour of various parts of the war-stricken country.
Steenhuisen is currently in Poland. He shared a series of images on his Instagram page which included pictures of Warsaw.
In a short statement issued by the party leader earlier on Sunday, Steenhuisen said he would soon arrive in the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine.
Steenhuisen said his tour is set mostly in and around the capital, Kiev, “to ascertain for myself the situation in a country that has been under siege from the Russian army for over two months”.
The DA leader will, over the course of the next week, visit refugee camps as well as meet with various mayors, governors, business leaders, students and ordinary Ukrainian citizens to see, first-hand, the effects of the Russian invasion and the ongoing occupation of parts of Ukraine.
“In the era of fake news and propaganda, this is the only way to truly know what is happening.
“My predecessor and stalwart of South African liberalism, Helen Suzman, used to live and work by this motto. She often offered this advice to others: ‘Go see for yourself. Don’t take what the press tells you, don’t take what other people tell you; go and see for yourself.’ That is the purpose of my visit,” he said.
Steenhuisen said the people of Ukraine deserved to have the unfiltered truth about what is taking place there be told so that the world could stand united in bringing the injustice to an end.
He added that everyone should remember that the world is “super-connected” where disruptions in one part cause major ripples everywhere else.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not a European problem, it is a global problem. The knock-on effect of this war on our own fuel, maize, cooking oil and fertiliser prices will reach deep into the pockets of poor South Africans who can already not make ends meet.
“We dare not pretend that this is a war that has nothing to do with us. And we dare not pretend that remaining ‘neutral’ in this situation is admirable. When we have clear and undeniable evidence of injustice, we owe it to the victims to pick a side and speak out,” Steenhuisen said.
Over the next six days, Steenhuisen said he would provide updates of his visit to the media as his itinerary and connectivity allows for it.
Political Bureau