On ensuring accountability and justice in response to Russia’s continued attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine

B100204/2026

European Parliament resolution on ensuring accountability and justice in response to Russia’s continued attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine

(2026/2700(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,

–having regard to the UN Charter,

–having regard to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC),

–having regard to the Geneva Conventionsof 12 August 1949, and to the additional protocols thereto,

–having regard to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention),

–having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights,

–having regard to UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/ES-11/5 of 14 November 2022 entitled ‘Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine’,

–having regard to the Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine,

–having regard to Rule 136(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, in gross violation of the UN Charter and its own international commitments, including the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Budapest Memorandum; whereas Russia’s aggression against Ukraine started in 2014 with its occupation of parts of the Donbas region and its occupation and annexation of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea;

B.whereas Russia systematically targets residential areas and civilian infrastructure, in complete violation of international law; whereas civilians living near the front lines and in the territories occupied by Russia are facing the most severe humanitarian impacts; whereas Russian short-range drones remain the primary cause of civilian casualties in front-line areas; whereas in Russian-occupied areas, Russia is intensifying its repression of residents, including by restricting access to basic services, such as healthcare, to Russian citizens, effectively coercing Ukrainians into accepting Russian citizenship, in breach of international law; whereas Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territories are being conscripted into the Russian army and are having their private properties seized by the occupying authorities;

C.whereas Russia continues to hold thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war and unlawfully detained civilians in inhumane conditions, and subjects them to systematic torture and ill treatment, abuses that constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity; whereas countless Ukrainian children have been unlawfully moved to Russia and Belarus since the start of the war;

D.whereas the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine (UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine) has produced detailed reports documenting war crimes committed in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories; whereas in February 2026 UN experts warned that, as the war enters its fifth year, impunity remains the norm;

E.whereas in March 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children; whereas the ICC subsequently issued arrest warrants for four more senior Russian military figures – Viktor Sokolov, Sergei Kobylash, Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov – accused of directing attacks on civilian objects and crimes against humanity;

F.whereas Ukraine is pursuing a Genocide Convention case against Russia at the International Court of Justice; whereas overall, Ukraine is investigating more than 200 000 incidents of alleged international crimes, and the actual number of such atrocities is suspected to be even higher;

G.whereas the ICC lacks jurisdiction over the crime of aggression because Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute; whereas the foundational agreement for a bespoke tribunal for this cause, the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, was signed on 25 June 2025 by Ukraine and the Council of Europe;

H.whereas, following UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/ES-11/5, which states that Russia must bear the legal consequences of its wrongful acts and calls for the creation of an international register of damage for the purpose of reparations, the Convention establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine was signed in December 2025 by the EU and over 30 states; whereas this separate civil reparations mechanism, established within the framework of the Council of Europe, will process compensation claims for damage caused by Russia’s aggression; whereas the work of the International Claims Commission for Ukraine is set to be aided by information from the Council of Europe’s Register of Damage for Ukraine, which will record claims eligible for compensation;

I.whereas in the case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights, on 9 July 2025, held Russia accountable for widespread and flagrant abuses of human rights arising, since 2014, from the conflict that began in eastern Ukraine, in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the downing of flight MH17 in July 2014;

J.whereas a March 2026 report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine states that Russian authorities ‘at the highest level’ have deported ‘thousands’ of children from the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine; whereas the UN Commission has stated that the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia constitutes a crime against humanity and a war crime, and that Putin’s ‘direct involvement’ has been ‘visible from the outset’; whereas the UN Commission has so far identified 1 205 cases of children who were taken from Ukrainian territories, but the real figure is expected to be closer to 20 000; whereas returned children report having endured ‘re-education’ efforts by Russian authorities, aimed at removing their Ukrainian identity; whereas 80 % of the deported and forcibly transferred children have not yet been returned, with many parents and guardians to this day unaware of their whereabouts;

K.whereas Russia’s aggression has led to the unprecedented destruction of the natural environment, the loss of ecosystems, and the large-scale pollution of air, soil and water resources of Ukraine; whereas the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine has reported environmental losses worth EUR 120 billion, with over 10 000 documented cases of environmental damage caused by Russia;

L.whereas EU Member States are still paying Russia for fossil fuels on a monthly basis, spending EUR 1.3 billion on Russian fossil fuel in March 2026 alone; whereas the EU remains the largest buyer of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) and pipeline gas, accounting for almost half (49 %) of Russia’s total LNG exports and 33 % of Russia’s pipeline gas exports; whereas in March 2026, Spain was the EU’s largest importer, purchasing EUR 355 million worth of Russian LNG that month, marking a 124 % month-on-month increase;

1.Condemns, in the strongest possible terms, Russia’s continued war of aggression against Ukraine, and demands that Russia immediately terminate all military activities in Ukraine, unconditionally withdraw all military forces and equipment from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine, and compensate Ukraine for the damage caused to its people, land and infrastructure;

2.Expresses its unwavering solidarity with the people of Ukraine; declares its full support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, and underlines that this war constitutes a serious violation of international law; welcomes all international efforts aimed at establishing clear accountability for all crimes committed by Russia during its war of aggression, starting in 2014;

3.Underlines that peace negotiations that overlook victims, neglect justice, circumvent accountability for Russia or exclude Ukraine from having a principal role cannot lead to a just and sustainable peace;

4.Calls on all EU Member States and partner countries to sign and ratify the Convention establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine; calls on all signatories to the convention to also ratify the convention without delay; underlines that the convention requires 25 ratifications to enter into force and fully establish the International Claims Commission; calls on the signatories to also ensure that the financial requirements are met to support the initial work of the International Claims Commission, and to work towards providing longer-term funding, in addition to this;

5.Calls on all EU Member States to increase efforts to finalise an Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Management Committee of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, as this is essential for securing the necessary financial and political backing; underlines the need to address and resolve, in line with international law, the existing key legal and practical challenges, including questions on official immunities and the enforcement of arrest warrants;

6.Stresses the need to build a broader international coalition for justice and accountability for Russia’s crimes that extends beyond Europe, to ensure the success of these efforts, and to confirm international support for multilateralism and the protection of international law; welcomes the participation of various countries in the various mechanisms so far established or which are currently being established, including the participation of Japan, Canada and Australia in the Register of Damage for Ukraine;

7.Commends the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine in investigating all alleged violations and abuses of human rights, violations of international humanitarian law and related crimes in the context of the aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation, and welcomes the 31 March 2026 extension of its mandate; calls on the EU Member States to ensure the continuation of the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine beyond 2027, as needed;

8.Emphasises its full support for the ongoing investigation by the Prosecutor of the ICC into the situation in Ukraine based on alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide; condemns the United States’ sanctions against the ICC, its prosecutors, judges and staff, which constitute a serious attack on the international justice system; reiterates, once again, its call on the Commission to urgently activate the Blocking Statute, and on the Member States to urgently increase their diplomatic efforts, in order to protect and safeguard the ICC as an indispensable cornerstone of the international justice system;

9.Condemns, in the strongest terms, Russia’s campaign of forced transfer and illegal adoption of thousands of Ukrainian children and erasure of Ukrainian identity by enforced Russification; calls for the EU to closely cooperate with and support the Ukrainian authorities, international organisations and non-governmental organisations in documenting all missing and deported children, ensuring their safe return and reintegration, and providing the necessary legal, psychological and social supports;

10.Underlines that the Russian war of aggression amounts to an ecocide, which has caused severe and long-lasting damage to Ukraine’s environment, including the destruction of ecosystems, the contamination of water and soil, and the targeting of industrial and energy infrastructure; considers the international recognition of these acts as war crimes crucial to ensure full legal accountability for Russia and consequent compensation for Ukraine, and calls for a comprehensive environmental recovery strategy to be supported by the EU as part of Ukraine’s reconstruction; calls for the EU and its Member States to give full support to all initiatives documenting the environmental destruction caused by Russia’s war, and to support efforts for accountability and compensation in foreign jurisdictions;

11.Urges the EU Member States to stop importing all types of Russian fossil fuel without delay, stressing that the billions of euro spent on these fossil fuels inevitably contribute to funding Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine;

12.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, as well as the President, Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation.