MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression against Ukraine
3.10.2022 - (2022/2851(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Sergey Lagodinsky, Bronis Ropė, Hannah Neumann, Anna Cavazzini, Mounir Satouri, Viola von Cramon‑Taubadel, Michèle Rivasi, Claude Gruffat, Yannick Jadot
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0430/2022
B9‑0430/2022
European Parliament resolution on Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression against Ukraine
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Ukraine and Russia,
– having regard to the UN Charter, The Hague Conventions, Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, and the Rome Statute,
– having regard to the statement by the Spokesperson of the European External Action Service (EEAS) of 12 September 2022 on regional elections and their non-applicability to the territories of Ukraine,
– having regard to the declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union of 28 September 2022 on the illegal sham ‘referenda’ by Russia in the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions,
– having regard to the declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union of 22 September 2022 on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,
– having regard to the declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union of 28 September 2022 on leaks from the Nord Stream gas pipelines,
– having regard to the statements by the members of the European Council and the G7 foreign ministers of 30 September 2022 on the illegal annexation of sovereign Ukrainian territory,
– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas on 24 February 2022 the Russian Federation launched an unprovoked, unjustified and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine; whereas Russia’s actions over the past weeks have further escalated its war against Ukraine, as well as its confrontation with the EU; whereas Russia’s actions in Ukraine continue to threaten peace and security in Europe and worldwide and are having severe global consequences in the form of increased food insecurity and rising energy prices;
B. whereas Ukrainian forces have made military advances in the east and south of the country, leading to the liberation of several towns and villages under Russian occupation; whereas this liberation has led to the discovery of new evidence of the serious human rights violations and war crimes committed by Russian forces and their proxies, such as mass graves with more than 440 bodies in Izyum;
C. whereas thousands of civilians have already been murdered and many more tortured, harassed, sexually assaulted, kidnapped or forcibly displaced; whereas this inhumane behaviour by the Russian forces and their proxies is in total disregard for international humanitarian law;
D. whereas from 9 to 11 September 2022, regional and local elections were held in Russia and also in the illegally annexed Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which the EU does not recognise;
E. whereas from 23 to 27 September 2022, so-called ‘authorities’, appointed illegitimately by Russia in the territories of Ukraine it occupies militarily, held illegal ‘referenda’ in parts of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine in an attempt to legitimise Russia’s illegal military control and forcibly change Ukraine’s borders in clear violation of the UN Charter and Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity;
F. whereas access to the internet, free and independent media and freedom of expression have been greatly restricted in the occupied territories; whereas, therefore, these illegal ‘votes’ cannot be considered under any circumstances to be the free expression of the will of the people living in these regions under constant Russian military threats and intimidation;
G. whereas on 30 September 2022, Russia announced its illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions; whereas this illegal annexation has prompted Ukraine to officially apply for NATO membership;
H. whereas on 21 September 2022, Russia announced a ‘partial’ mobilisation, its first ever mobilisation since the Second World War; whereas contrary to the official announcement that the authorities would draft men who had recently served in the army and had combat experience, reports suggest that men without any military experience are also being drafted, particularly from poorer regions and ethnic minorities;
I. whereas protests have taken place in several Russian regions and cities following the mobilisation announcement; whereas hundreds of thousands of eligible men have fled Russia for neighbouring countries since the announcement; whereas the Russian authorities have set up conscription centres at several border crossing points in order to serve call-up notices on the spot and discourage men from leaving the country;
J. whereas on 26 September 2022, damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines resulted in gas leaks in the Baltic Sea; whereas although the exact volume of methane escaping into the atmosphere is hard to measure, the amount is likely to be significant and will have a detrimental impact on the environment; whereas the cause of the leaks remains unknown but all available information indicates they are the result of a deliberate act; whereas an official investigation has been announced by Denmark and Sweden;
K. whereas Russia has also posed threats to the safety and security of nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes in Ukraine and their personnel, significantly raising the risk of a nuclear accident; whereas Russia has seized and militarised the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), and the risks of a nuclear incident will remain dangerously high as long as Russia remains present on the ZNPP site;
1. Condemns the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms, as well as the involvement of Belarus in this war, and demands that Russia immediately terminate all military activities in Ukraine and unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine;
2. Expresses its undivided solidarity with the people of Ukraine, fully supports Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, and underlines that this war constitutes a serious violation of international law;
3. Strongly condemns the massive and grave violations of human rights and war crimes committed by the Russian armed forces and various occupation authorities in Ukraine; insists that the responsible government officials and military leaders, and perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, must be held accountable;
4. Calls on the EU institutions and the Member States, as well as EU partners, to provide all the necessary support to Ukraine, including the delivery of the arms necessary, preferably via an EU-wide initiative;
5. Condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia’s illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine and the illegal sham ‘referenda’, which are in violation of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and in blatant breach of international law; welcomes the statements by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the EU and the Member States, as well as EU partners in this regard;
6. Reiterates that no one ‘elected’ in the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula during these elections and claiming to ‘represent’ the populations of Crimea and Sevastopol has any legitimacy, so will not be recognised as representatives of those territories; stresses that Crimea unquestionably remains an integral part of Ukraine;
7. Condemns the mobilisation in Russia, and calls for an immediate end to involuntary conscription; condemns the measures compelling residents of the occupied territories of Ukraine to serve in Russia’s armed or auxiliary forces, which is forbidden under the Fourth Geneva Convention;
8. Expresses its support for all Russian citizens protesting and fighting the current regime from within or outside of Russia; calls on all Member States to provide necessary protection for dissidents subjected to persecution; stresses the obligation for Member States to fully respect the right to seek asylum and the principle of non-refoulement at all external borders, with regard to persons fleeing Russia, including human rights defenders, deserters and dissidents, also based on prosecution or punishment for refusal to perform military service in a conflict, where performing military service would involve committing crimes, including war crimes, as recognised in Article 9(2)(e) of the Qualification Directive[1]; also recognises the right of Member States to assess possible risks to national security in the analysis of each individual case within the asylum procedure; calls on the Commission as the guardian of the treaties to unambiguously condemn any violations of the right to seek asylum by Member States and to enforce compliance with relevant EU law;
9. Calls on other Member States to demonstrate solidarity and provide assistance to Member States affected by a disproportionate increase in asylum applications, including through relocation of asylum applicants if necessary; urges the Member States to increase the issuance of humanitarian visas to Russian citizens in need of protection;
10. Calls on the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to increase support for countries in the South Caucasus and in Central Asia, which are receiving substantial numbers of migrants, in particular Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, in order to maintain stability in these regions;
11. Is deeply concerned by the methane leaks from the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which also constitutes an environmental attack on the EU, and urges the Member States to initiate a resolution at the UN General Assembly to this effect; calls for a full investigation into the incident and harsh measures to hold those responsible to account; calls on the Commission and the Council to take urgent steps to secure crucial infrastructure, especially energy supply infrastructure, and increase EU resilience against hybrid attacks and to also further support the resilience of the Eastern Partners and Western Balkans;
12. Condemns Russia’s efforts to undermine the security and safety of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, by shelling targets near its reactors, for example, as well as Russia’s threats of using weapons of mass destruction; calls on Russia to immediately cease its threats of a nuclear escalation, given the global consequences of any nuclear catastrophe for human life and the environment for decades to come; recalls that any attempt by Russia to present attacks on occupied territories as an attack on Russia and thus as grounds for a nuclear attack is illegal and baseless and will not deter the European Union from further assistance to Ukraine in its self-defence;
13. Welcomes the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia and supports efforts to maintain a continued IAEA presence at the ZNPP in order to support Ukraine and create a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP; underlines the importance of reinforcing the international framework for the protection of nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes including in armed conflicts;
14. Calls on the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to increase support for and cooperation with civil society and the free media in Ukraine and Russia, to continue to provide temporary shelter in the EU for those fleeing the war, and to help with the issuance of temporary travel documents enabling Ukrainian citizens who are trapped in Russia without their identity or travel documents to leave the country if they wish to; condemns systematic attempts on the Russian side to slow down the entry of Ukrainian refugees to the EU on the Estonian and Latvian borders, which could soon lead to a major humanitarian crisis; calls on the Member States and their border control not to hinder such refugees from entering the EU;
15. Welcomes the latest proposal for new sanctions, but calls for increased measures to be put in place and for Member States to adopt them as soon as possible; urges all Member States to continue to show unity in the face of Russia’s war against Ukraine; calls on all partners, in particular EU candidate countries and potential candidates, to align with the sanctions packages;
16. Calls for the list of individuals targeted by the sanctions to be expanded to include those involved in forced deportations, forced adoptions of Ukrainian children, the illegal ‘referenda’ in Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk, and the illegal ‘elections’ in Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as all members of Duma parties who hold offices in elected parliaments on all levels, including at regional and municipal levels; calls for a ban on the direct or indirect import, purchase or transfer of diamonds, whether in raw or processed form, originating from the Russian Federation;
17. Calls for an immediate and full embargo on Russian imports of fossil fuels and uranium, and for the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines to be completely abandoned, in order to stop financing Putin’s war machine with EU money;
18. Calls on the Commission and EU supervisory authorities to closely monitor effective and comprehensive implementation of all EU sanctions by Member States and to address any circumvention practices; asks the Commission and the Member States to consider measures against third countries seeking to help Russia and Belarus circumvent the sanctions imposed;
19. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the President, Government and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the President, Government and State Duma of the Russian Federation.
- [1] OJ L 337, 20.12.2011, p. 9.