Commemorating one year of full scale Russian aggression to Ukraine. U4U Press Statement, 24.02.2023

Statement in pdf format.

Commemorating one year of full scale Russian aggression to Ukraine

United for Ukraine, Press Statement

23-24 February 2023

 

We, parliamentarians representing Foreign Affairs Committees, National Security and Defense Committees, and the United for Ukraine global parliamentary network, upon paying solidarity visit to Ukraine on 24 February 2023:

 

• Condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine, the illegal occupation of Ukrainian regions, aimed at annihilating Ukrainian statehood and Ukrainian people, and will never recognize Russia’s illegal attempts to annex parts of Ukrainian territory, made since 2014, fully supporting Ukraine’s goal to restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders.
• Believe that decisive Ukraine’s victory is critical to European and global security and for the perspectives of sustainable peace on European continent. If not defeated this year on the battlefield in Ukraine, Russia’s military machine will remain a formidable military threat that could escalate into larger conflict with entire Europe and will consolidate efforts of autocratic states to challenge global rules-based international order. We are convinced that this must be prevented, including through the increased military and defense support to Ukraine and sanctions pressure on Russia and its global accomplices including Belarus and Iran.
• Share Ukraine’s view that everything possible, including timely military and technical assistance, must be provided to bring its victory in the war closer. We welcome the recent decisions taken by our governments in this regard and call on all partners to grant Ukraine with all necessary military tools to win the war as soon as possible. We call to further follow this path and speed up the process, based on understanding that delivery of higher quality and larger quantity of modern weapons is the only way to achieve the victory of Ukraine faster, to decrease the number of victims and the damage to the infrastructure of Ukraine as well as to create the basis for peace and stability in Europe.
• Strongly condemn Russia’s ongoing tactic of terrorizing Ukrainian civilians by attacking residential areas and critical civilian infrastructure by artillery, missiles and drones in revenge for the military losses on the ground. Therefore, we welcome decision already taken to acknowledge Russia as a terrorist state or a state sponsor of terrorism, including by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament. We are firmly committed to holding all perpetrators and accomplices accountable. We need to ensure full accountability, including by establishing a special tribunal for the crime of aggression. We call to speed up the legal confiscation of Russia’s frozen foreign exchange reserves and assets abroad for compensating damage caused to Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens.
• Express our support to the Peace Formula proposed by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy as an effective tool to bring the end to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and establish a comprehensive, just and lasting peace as well as security to the whole world. We urge our governments to commit to its implementation and to encourage international partners across the globe to join it.
• See Ukraine as part of the European and Euro-Atlantic family, supporting its future EU membership. We, the representatives of the EU parliaments, call on EU Member States to back Ukraine and support its work as well as the work of the European Commission to take decision on starting accession negotiations with Ukraine as early as possible in 2023 in order to consolidate the momentum for further EU-supported reforms and recovery.
• We also look forward to the NATO Vilnius Summit with great expectations and call on NATO member states to give clear and strong security guarantees for Ukraine. We are confident that Ukraine’s NATO membership would greatly contribute to the Alliance’s security and would help the Russian society to finally get rid of the imperial dreams, which Putin is using to consolidate his regime. This would send a strong message that Ukraine is not in the sphere of Russia’s interests and Russia has no further veto on NATO enlargement. Ukraine would significantly strengthen the Alliance and its European pillar as Ukrainians have the strongest and battle-tested military in Europe. By crushing Russia’s imperial dream, a guarantee of Ukraine’s future NATO membership would help ensure sustainable peace in Europe and could play an important role in bringing democratic transformation in Russia. That is why Ukrainian membership in NATO is supported by Russian democratic opposition.

 

1. Andrius Kubilius, Member of the European Parliament, Leader of the United for Ukraine (U4U)
2. Žygimantas Pavilionis, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Seimas
3. Giedrius Surplys, Deputy Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Seimas
4. Ekaterina Spasova Gecheva-Zaharieva, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly
5. Pavel Fisher, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security of the Senate
6. Jussi Halla-aho, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Finlands riksdag
7. Mireille Clapot, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly
8. Laurent Saunier, Head of the Secretariat of the Foreign Affairs Committee
9. Thomas Erndl, Deputy Chair of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee
10. Bjarni Jónsson, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Iceland
11. Lia Quartapelle, Vice-President of the Committee on Foreign and Community Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies
12. Roberto Menia, Vice-President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence of the Italian Senate
13. Giovanni Baiocchi, Clerk of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense of the Italian Senate
14. Radosław Fogiel, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Sejm
15. Bogdan Klich, Chairman of the Foreign and European Union Affairs Committee of the Senate
16. António Prôa, Vice-Chair of the National Defence Committee of the Portugal Parliament
17. Predrag Baković, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Policy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia
18. Pau Marí-Klose, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Congress of Deputies of the Kingdom of Spain
19. Pablo Hispan, Vicepresident of PP Group, Deputy Chairman of the Congress of Deputies of the Kingdom of Spain
20. Gustaf Göthberg, Member of Parliament, Member of the Defense Committee, alternate member of the committee on foreign affairs and member of the committee on legal affairs and human rights in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
21. Alicia Kearns, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons
22. Marek Ženišek, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies
23. Kateryna Musiienko, Counsellor or Mr. Kubilius and Coordinator of the U4U