Russia commits ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine, says top EU diplomat

BRUSSELS

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday condemned Russia’s attacks against Ukrainian civilians, accusing Moscow of committing “war crimes.”

Borrell spoke to reporters on the way to the meeting of EU foreign affairs and defense ministers in Brussels.

“It is not a war, it is a massive destruction of a country without any kind of consideration on the law of war,” Borrell said.

He strongly condemned Russian attacks against the civilian population and said Russians are committing “war crimes” against the people of the besieged city of Mariupol.

He said that EU ministers will consider new sanctions against Russia with energy in focus.

Borrell declined to give details about the proposals, but both Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney and Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis suggested banning Russian oil export to the EU in their doorstep speeches.

“It’s unavoidable we start talking about the energy sector, and we can definitely talk about oil because it is the biggest revenue to Russia’s budget,” Landsbergis asserted.

“We cannot get tired of imposing sanctions, we cannot get tired of bringing assistance and help to Ukraine,” he added.

Following Borrell’s proposal, the EU is expected to double its military aid under the European Peace Facility and allocate another €500 million ($550 million) to Ukraine.

In order to approve the military aid, the German government needs the consent of the Bundestag. The vote will take place on Tuesday.

In the afternoon, the EU foreign and defense minister will hold a joint session in the so-called “jumbo format” to discuss and highly possibly adopt the bloc’s new defense strategy.

The Strategic Compass, proposed by Borrell last year, suggests smarter joint use of military capabilities, setting up a swiftly deployable EU force of 5,000 troops, and securing the bloc against cyberattacks.

Ahead of the ministerial meeting, Borrell stressed that the document on a coordinated common security and defense policy, which has been prepared for over two years, “is not the answer to the Ukrainian war, but is part of the answer.”

Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu will also join in person his EU counterparts for a part of the meeting, and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov will meet them via video link.

The EU has allocated €500 million ($552.5 million) in humanitarian aid to Ukrainians and adopted four packages of sanctions since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24.

The measures target 785 individuals and 14 entities in total, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, oligarchs, and military officers.

The sanctions also ban the export of luxury goods to Russia, exclude Russian and Belarusian banks from the SWIFT international banking system, and prohibit the broadcasting of Sputnik and RT media outlets.

At least 902 civilians have been killed so far in Ukraine, and 1,459 injured, according to UN estimates. It has warned, however, that the true toll is likely much higher as it has not been able to gain access to areas of increased hostilities.

Over 3.48 million Ukrainians fled to the neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.