I would like to send you — and all Ukrainians — a warm and fraternal greeting from the European Union and our 450 million citizens. For over two months, we have watched with horror the martyrdom inflicted on you by Russia. Last week I was in Kyiv. I saw with my own eyes the atrocities […]
Chemical Weapons Convention: Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union to mark the 25th anniversary
On 29 April 2022, we mark the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CWC). With 193 States Parties, the Convention today enshrines the international norm against the use of chemical weapons. Since it entered into […]
World Press Freedom Day. Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU
As we mark World Press Freedom Day, brave journalists, camera crews, reporters, photographers and bloggers are risking their lives to keep us informed about Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine. Russian forces are detaining, abducting or kidnapping and targeting journalists and civil society actors to prevent the world from hearing the truth. We […]
Commission proposes strengthening Eurojust’s mandate to collect and preserve war crimes evidence
25th April the Commission proposed to amend the Eurojust Regulation to give the Agency the legal possibility to collect, preserve and share evidence on war crimes. Due to the ongoing conflict, it is difficult to store and preserve evidence securely in Ukraine. To ensure accountability for the crimes committed in Ukraine, it is crucial to […]
China’S Balancing Act On The Ukraine War
Chinese media and officials have made it clear: it is not Russia that is to blame for the military aggression against Ukraine, but the West and NATO’s eastward expansion of the past 20 years, ignoring Russia’s ‘legitimate security concerns’. At the same time, China ‘respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries’. Over the […]
Trolling For A Victory Steeped In Blood And Hunger
Nearing day 50 of the war in Ukraine, the master of the Kremlin remains unabashed. The “special operation”, for the rest of the world also known as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, was a good idea and is still going according to plan. Perhaps it is fitting that such pronouncements were made on 12 April, marked […]
Russia: Statement by the Spokesperson on the expulsion of EU Delegation diplomats
The European Union deplores the unjustified, baseless decision of the Russian Federation to expel 18 members of the Delegation of the European Union to the Russian Federation. The EU diplomats in question exercise their functions in the framework of and in full respect for the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. There are no grounds for Friday’s decision by the Russian […]
EU introduces exceptions to restrictive measures to facilitate humanitarian activities in Ukraine
In view of the humanitarian crisis resulting from Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, the Council introduced humanitarian exceptions1 in two sanctions regimes concerning the situation in Ukraine: restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (“Ukraine territorial integrity regime”), and restrictive measures in response to […]
EU ministers confirm unity in support for Ukraine
Ministers discussed the Russian military aggression and stood united in their support for Ukraine. Ministers highlighted the importance of accountability for the gross violations of international law. The EU will support the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor and the Ukrainian prosecutor financially and with staff on the ground. The EU advisory mission will now be deployed on the […]