The European Union accuses Russia of war crimes

The European Union accuses Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine. Russia is attacking the civilian population and targeting, inter alia, hospitals, schools and hostels, according to a statement from the EU summit in Brussels released early Friday morning. “These war crimes must stop immediately.”

The US government officially accused Russian troops in Ukraine of war crimes for the first time on Wednesday. “Our assessment is based on a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. US President Joe Biden occasionally attended the EU Summit as a guest on Thursday.

Responsible International Criminal Court

War crimes are violations of international law that can be brought before the International Criminal Court. War crimes include the deliberate killing and starvation of civilians, obstruction of humanitarian aid, and the use of nuclear or chemical weapons.

In its declaration at the Versailles summit two weeks ago, the EU refrained from explicitly using the term ‘war crimes’. Even then, however, there was talk of “massive attacks on civilians and civilian facilities.” “The groundless and unjustified military aggression of Russia against Ukraine grossly violates international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter.”

The final declaration of the current summit now states that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is in gross violation of international law and is leading to massive deaths and injuries to the civilian population. The responsible persons and their shareholders would be held liable in accordance with international law.

Ukraine will continue to receive coordinated political, financial, material and humanitarian assistance. In addition, it is ready to swiftly decide on further, coordinated, strong sanctions against Russia and Belarus. Any attempt to circumvent already adopted sanctions or assist Russia in any other way must be stopped.

Solidarity Fund for financial support

The EU countries decided to establish a solidarity fund to financially support Ukraine. This was also the result of statements by heads of state and government.

The text reads: “Considering the destruction and huge losses caused to Ukraine by Russia’s military aggression, the European Union is committed to helping the Ukrainian government in its urgent needs and, after the Russian offensive, to rebuild democratic support for Ukraine.”

A declaration conference will be organized in due course to raise funds for the fund. Moreover, international partners are invited to participate in the fund’s development.

At the end of last week, the President of the EU Council, Charles Michel, mentioned the Solidarity Fund after a telephone conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The reason was that Ukraine needed access to international liquidity to finance the import of everyday items and military equipment. Under the current conditions, the country is unable to issue bonds on the international financial market. Private investment would also be deducted.

In the long term, with the reconstruction of Ukraine in mind

The fund is initially intended to ensure the functioning of the authorities and the continuation of defense activities against Russia, as well as emergency assistance. In the longer term, huge investments to rebuild the economy could then be financed in order to anchor Ukraine economically in the West.

In the past, the EU has already established an Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, inter alia, to address the root causes of forced displacement and illegal migration and to contribute to better management of migration. By mid-2020 alone, almost five billion euro was made available by the EU institutions, EU Member States and other donors.