site.btaUPDATED MEPs, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kallas Discuss Need to Hold Russia Accountable for War Crimes in Ukraine

During Tuesday's session of the European Parliament, MEPs and Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, discussed the need to hold Russia accountable for its war crimes in Ukraine. In her opening remarks pointed out that there have been deliberate attacks by Russia against civilian targets in Ukraine, such as hospitals, medical facilities, and Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and indiscriminate attacks on densely populated areas. Other atrocities include the abduction, torture and murder of civilians, forced deportations, including that of children, and the killing and torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war, said Kallas. 

„Тhree years ago yesterday, videos and photos began to emerge showing the bodies of civilians scattered around 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. […] The evidence is overwhelming, from photos to phone records and decoded call signs used by commanders of 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,” said Kallas.

She argued that the forcible transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children is one of the gravest crimes committed. “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 4000 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,” said the High Representative.

She used statistics showing that birthrates in Ukraine have dropped by 30 % during this war, and that 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 the Ukrainian Children. We will do all we can to return the children to their families in Ukraine,” said Kallas.

She concluded that when this war is over – “and one day it will be”, to use her words - recovery will come not from only a reconstruction of the buildings in Bucha, Bryanca, Bakhmut, Chasiv Yar, Donetsk or Mariupol. “It will also come in the pursuit of justice and accountability for the heinous 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.”