The need for the EU's continuous support for Ukraine

European Parliament resolution of 17 July 2024 on the need for the EU’s continuous support for Ukraine (2024/2721(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to its previous resolutions on Ukraine and on Russia, in particular those adopted since the beginning of the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula on 27 February 2014 and the escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine since 24 February 2022,

–having regard to Rule 167(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas Russia has been carrying out an illegal, unprovoked and unjustified full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine since 24 February 2022, continuing what it started in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and the subsequent occupation of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions;

B.whereas Ukraine and its citizens have shown unwavering determination in successfully defending their country, despite the high cost in civilian and military casualties; whereas Russia has been intentionally perpetrating large-scale and systematic atrocities in the occupied territories, as well as indiscriminately attacking residential areas and civilian infrastructure, the most recent example of which is the bombing of the Ohmatdyt children’s hospital; whereas millions of Ukrainians continue to be displaced inside and outside of Ukraine, having fled Russia’s aggression; whereas this inhumane conduct by the Russian forces and their proxies constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity;

C.whereas the EU and its Member States have thus far contributed approximately EUR 108 billion in financial, humanitarian, refugee and military assistance to Ukraine, including approximately EUR 39 billion of military aid with a further EUR 21 billion reportedly to be allocated until 2025; whereas the EU Military Assistance Misison to Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine), has trained over 55 000 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in both combined arms training and specialised training; whereas NATO will ensure an annual financial contribution to Ukraine of EUR 40 billion;

D.whereas the EU officially launched accession negotiations and held its first intergovernmental conferences with Ukraine and Moldova on 25 June 2024;

E.whereas Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, the country holding the rotating presidency of the Council, paid an uncoordinated and surprising visit to the Russian Federation and to the People’s Republic of China on 5 and 8 July 2024 respectively; whereas these meetings were not endorsed by any EU institutions or by the Member States;

1.Reaffirms its positions on the continued support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders and the unwavering commitment of the EU to providing political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support for as long as it takes to secure Ukraine’s victory; calls for the EU and its Member States to work actively towards maintaining and achieving the broadest possible international support for Ukraine;

2.Reiterates that Ukraine, as a victim of aggression, has the legitimate right to self-defence in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter; recalls that the significant, though still insufficient, military assistance provided by the EU, the US and like-minded partners is designed to allow Ukraine to effectively defend itself against an aggressor state and to re-establish full control over its entire internationally recognised territory;

3.Welcomes the recently launched EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova; believes that their steady integration into the EU represents a geostrategic and democratic opportunity and an investment in a united and strong Europe; recalls that EU accession is a strictly merit-based process that requires the fulfilment of the criteria for EU membership, including those concerning democracy, the rule of law, fundamental values and the fight against corruption; recalls that the accession process requires adequate EU financial and technical assistance;

4.Condemns the recent visit of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to the Russian Federation; stresses that during this visit, he did not represent the EU, and considers the visit to be a blatant violation of the EU’s Treaties and common foreign policy, including the principle of sincere cooperation; underlines that the Hungarian Prime Minister cannot claim to represent the EU when violating common EU positions; considers that this violation should be met with repercussions for Hungary; recalls that in the immediate aftermath of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s so-called peace mission, Russia attacked the Ohmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, showing the irrelevance of his alleged efforts, which have been met with scepticism from the Ukrainian leadership; reiterates its support for the Peace Formula presented by Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy; deplores the fact that Hungary has abused its veto power in the Council to prevent essential aid from being granted to Ukraine; urges Hungary to lift its blockade of the European Peace Facility funding for Ukraine, including the agreed reimbursement for Member States for military assistance already delivered;

5.Recalls that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is part of a broader set of objectives against the West, against our democracy and our values; welcomes the outcome of the NATO Summit and reiterates its belief that Ukraine is on an irreversible path to NATO membership; calls for the EU and its Member States to increase their military support to Ukraine for as long as necessary and in whatever form necessary; reiterates its previous position that all EU Member States and NATO allies should collectively and individually commit to supporting Ukraine militarily with no less than 0,25 % of their GDP annually; calls on the Member States to further expand training operations for the Ukrainian Armed Forces such as EUMAM Ukraine, with a view to further increasing their operational capabilities; underlines that insufficient or delayed deliveries of weapons and ammunition risk offsetting the efforts made so far and therefore urges the Member States to substantially increase and significantly accelerate their military support and boost the capacity of their military industries; strongly advocates for the removal of restrictions on the use of Western weapons systems delivered to Ukraine against military targets on Russian territory; welcomes the decision by NATO guaranteeing military supplies worth at least EUR 40 billion in the near future;

6.Condemns the recent barbaric attack on the Ohmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv; expresses its full solidarity with and condolences to the families of the victims; recalls the documented occurrences of torture, rape and the abduction of children; calls for the EU and its Member States to actively support efforts towards ensuring accountability for war crimes within existing international courts and institutions, as well as for the crime of aggression, through the establishment of a special international tribunal, among other methods; reiterates its firm conviction that Russia must provide financial compensation for the massive damage it has caused in Ukraine; welcomes, therefore, the recent decision of the Council to direct extraordinary revenues stemming from immobilised Russian assets to support the Ukrainian war effort, as well as the G7 decision to offer Ukraine a USD 50 billion loan secured through immobilised Russian state assets; calls for the EU to establish a sound legal regime for the confiscation of Russian state-owned assets frozen by the EU;

7.Condemns the increasing number of hybrid attacks carried out by Russia against the EU and its Member States with the aim of weakening European support for Ukraine using information manipulation, covert destabilisation attempts and corruption of political figures; is appalled by reports that an assassination attempt was plotted by Russia against the CEO of a European defence company;

8.Calls on the Commission to propose long-term financial assistance for the reconstruction of Ukraine, building on the experience of the newly established Ukraine Facility;

9.Calls on the Council to maintain and extend its sanctions policy against Russia and Belarus while monitoring, reviewing and enhancing its effectiveness and impact; calls on the Council to systematically tackle the issue of sanctions circumvention by EU-based companies, third parties and third states and to adopt and strictly implement restrictive measures against all entities facilitating the circumvention of sanctions and providing the Russian military complex with military and dual-use technologies and equipment;

10.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, the President, Government and Parliament of Moldova, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Russian authorities.