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Opening Remarks 

President,  

Honourable Members of the European Parliament,

Three years ago, videos and photos began to emerge showing the bodies of civilians scattered along Yablunska Street in the town of Bucha, Ukraine. Children fleeing with their families, locals shopping for groceries, people trying to get back home on their bicycles. 

It [was] once was the case – from Bosnia to Sri Lanka – that a single photo or video could expose wartime atrocities. 

In Bucha, the evidence is overwhelming.  From photos to phone records and decoded call signs used by commanders on Russian radio channels. 

There is no denying it.  We know exactly who the perpetrators are.  

With the technology we have at our fingertips today, impunity for war crimes is frankly impossible, so long as we put the work in it. And that is what we must do, because the number of possible crimes committed in this war is simply beyond belief.  

The forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children is one of the gravest crimes committed and an extreme violation of human rights, but the impact on children at home in Ukraine is also devastating. According to Save the Children, approximately 4 million school-aged children have experienced educational interruptions since the full-scale war began. Close to four thousand education institutions have been damaged; more than 10% of the country’s education infrastructure has been completely destroyed.  Attacks on health facilities have endangered the lives of children, including those with chronic diseases. Birth rates in Ukraine have dropped by 30 percent during this war. In fact, fertility rates in Ukraine are now amongst the lowest in the world. 

Russia is destroying Ukraine’s present while denying the country its future. 

The European Union is part of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children. We will do all we can to return children to their families in Ukraine. The European Union has also imposed sanctions on more than 70 individuals responsible for the deportation and forced transfer of children, as well as for the ‘re-education’ and militarisation of Ukrainian children.   

Russia’s campaign against human life and dignity truly knows no limits. We also see this in the reports on enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial executions, sexual violence against civilian detainees and prisoners of war by Russian armed forces in occupied territories.  

The European Union will continue raising their cases at every opportunity, wherever we can – because no civilian detainee can be forgotten. We must also continue to advocate for the protection of prisoners of war and call on Russia to uphold its long-standing international commitments under International Humanitarian Law.  

A just, comprehensive and lasting peace, based on the United Nations Charter and international law, must include the exchange of Prisoners of War and release of civilian detainees, along with the return of forcibly transferred and deported Ukrainian children. Every returnee must be fully accounted for and integrated back into Ukrainian society. 

Honourable Members

The European Union has supported Ukraine’s efforts on accountability and justice from day one; from evidence collection to case-building, prosecution, preparing claims, and reparations for victims. 

The European Union is a firm supporter of the International Criminal Court which has issued six arrest warrants including President Putin, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, former Russian defence minister and current secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, and the general chief of staff Valery Gerasimov.  

Let us remember that arrest warrants are only issued after gathering the required evidence. Most criminal cases – around 170,000 have been opened now – will be investigated and prosecuted by Ukrainian authorities. This is why the European Union is also supporting the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine. We are strengthening its capacity to investigate and prosecute international crimes committed in Ukraine, including through the civilian European Union Advisory Mission.  

And for the specific Crime of Aggression, the European Union is leading the work on the establishment of a Special Tribunal. Legal experts recently finalised the technical negotiations for the Tribunal. The Council of Europe will soon start the process for political consideration of the documents to establish the Tribunal, including its draft statute.  

The European Union also supports the Register of Damages, established under the auspices of the Council of Europe. And we are actively working with international partners to set up a Claims Commission.  

Honourable Members,   

With every life destroyed in Russia’s war against Ukraine, there is a family close by, a family that lives on in pain, searching for peace of mind. When this war is over, and one day it will be, recovery will come not from only reconstructing the buildings of Bucha or Borodyanka or Bakhmut or Chasiv Yar or Toretsk or Mariupol. It will also come in the pursuit of justice and accountability for the heinous war crimes committed by Russia – because only justice will give every Ukrainian family the peace of mind they need to move on and rebuild their lives. 

Thank you. 

Link to video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-269933 

Closing remarks – Марічка

Honourable Members,  

Thank you for your interventions.  

There are a few comments that I want to make.  

First, to MEP Reuten. Right now, what we, as the European Union, are doing is relevant in this process. We have many things that are in our hands to make Ukraine stronger. Sanctions, [which] weaken Russia, but also giving Ukraine the aid that they need, because the stronger they are on the battlefield the stronger they are behind the negotiation table.  

Then, on the comments about accountability and that the debate should be wider. I also think that we should have a debate about international law, because every time we have had a really big International Crisis, we have developed the international law further.  

If you think about the Second World War, then we actually agreed to have United Nations Charter. To have the United Nations so that there would not be any wars in the future either, in the future. And the United Nations Charter and the principles are still standing, and we need to defend them.  

That is very clear. But it is also clear that accountability for the crimes of aggression – that means leadership crime, when somebody decides to attack another country, and also the war crimes that are stemming from the leadership crime – then the accountability for those crimes should also be more automatic. And that, if these things are conducted, then there is accountability for those crimes to prevent those crimes happening in the future.   

On the ceasefire, of course we welcome the talks about the ceasefire and also the first steps on this. But what really bothers me in this case is that the ceasefire talks are all about ‘not attacking things’. It is not about attacking people, it is not about attacking civilians, it is not about the killing to stop. And I think we have to be very firm on this. 

So, we have a plan. We are respecting the principles of international law, which also means the United Nations Charter, the territorial integrity of the country, sovereignty and independence of the country. We are supporting that.  

And of course, what are the tools in our hands? [These] are the tools of sanctions to put pressure on Russia, who is the aggressor here, so that they would stop this war. They are also not able to wage this war forever because we have to be on the side of Ukraine here, because there is very clearly one aggressor and one victim. 

Now to the MEP who was talking about the nuclear threat. If presenting the nuclear threat works, then what we will see in the world is more nuclear proliferation, because all those countries who are afraid of their neighbours will want to have a nuclear weapon - because this is the only thing that protects them.  

And all these countries who have an appetite for their neighbors’ territories, will also want to have a nuclear weapon because this is the only thing – by threatening to use this weapon – it gets you what you want.  

That is why I think the European Union is the credible, the reliable partner in the world who really has to stand for the international law to be applicable. It is for all the countries in the world, it is for the peace and security of the world.   

That is why our response here in Russia's war against Ukraine is very important. We have to stand firm. And the European Union must be unwavering in its commitment for accountability for all violations of international law committed in connection with Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.   

Thank you again for this exchange of views. Thank you. 

Link to the video (starting at 11:49:31): 

https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreaming/Plenary-session_20250401-0900-PLENARY