Statement on Ukraine by European Parliament’s leaders 

“Ukraine faces the threat of an unprecedented military aggression by the Russian Federation. This is not only a threat to the security of Ukraine and the safety of its people. It is also a threat to Ukraine’s prosperous democratic and economic development, to the rules-based international order, and to the security of Europe as a whole.

We, the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament, condemn the Russian military build-up in and around Ukraine and the threat of a military aggression against Ukraine. This military build-up, at the border with Ukraine, in Belarus, in illegally annexed Crimea, in the Black Sea, as well as in the unrecognised separatist entities of Donetsk and Luhansk, is a direct threat to Ukraine’s security. The threat of the use of force goes against the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of international law. We are united in our demand that the Russian Federation cease its military threat and its attempts at destabilisation and immediately and fully withdraw its forces and military equipment from the borders of Ukraine to the places of the original dislocation.

We unwaveringly support the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. We strongly believe that any country’s choice of alliances must not be subject to a third country’s approval. We stand behind diplomatic efforts by European leaders to defuse tensions and we urge Russia to contribute to immediate de-escalation. We are equally determined in our support for a robust response should Russia continue not to abide by its international commitments and obligations and launch an attack against Ukraine. We reiterate our call on the Council of the European Union to remain prepared to swiftly adopt severe economic and financial sanctions against the Russian Federation in close coordination with transatlantic and other like-minded partners. Such sanctions should include the exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT system, individual sanctions against individuals close to the Russian President and their families, entailing the freezing of financial and physical assets in the EU and travel bans. We reiterate our call for an immediate halt to the Nordstream 2 project should Russia launch an attack against Ukraine.

We resolutely reject any attempts to weaken or undermine the principles and mechanisms for security and cooperation in Europe and welcome the unity of European and transatlantic parties in this respect. These principles and mechanisms were jointly agreed in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, reconfirmed in the Charter of Paris for a New Europe in 1990 and are today embodied by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). We therefore unreservedly welcome and support the efforts of the OSCE Chairman-in-O