What changed

B90149/2024

B90156/2024

European Parliament resolution on the need for unwavering EU support tofor UkraineUkraine, after two years of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine

(2024/2526(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Ukraine and on Russia,Ukraine, in particular its resolutions of 1 March 2022 onsince the Russian aggression against Ukraine,escalation of 19 May 2022 on the fight against impunity forRussia’s war crimes in Ukraine, of 19 January 2023 on the establishment of a tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine and of 15 June 2023 on the sustainable reconstruction and integration of Ukraine into thein Euro-AtlanticFebruary community,2022,

– having regard to the Charterloss of human life and the Uniteddestruction Nations,in Ukraine,

– having regard to the Romewidespread Statuteinternational condemnation of theRussia’s Internationalillegal Criminalwar Courtof (ICC),aggression against Ukraine,

– having regard to the Genevaunprecedented Conventions,support and assistance provided by the EU and the Member States to Ukraine,

– having regard to the Commission proposal of 20 June 2023 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the Ukraine Facility (COM(2023)0338),

– having regard to the joint statement of 16 January 2024 by the leaders of five political groups in the European Parliament on military support to Ukraine, and to their statement of 31 January 2024 calling on EUCO to deliver on Ukraine,

– having regard to the EU’s unity and policies in response to the war in Ukraine,

– having regard to Ukraine’s aspirations to join the European Union, to its candidate status and to the Association Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, and the accompanying Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between the European Union and Ukraine,

– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas thetwo Russianyears Federationhave haspassed beensince wagingRussia anre-launched its unprovoked, unjustified and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine sinceon 24 February 2022, infundamentally continuationchanging ofthe previousgeopolitical aggressionssituation sinceand 2014,threatening andthe continuessecurity toarchitecture persistentlyin violateEurope, thewith principlesfar-reaching ofimplications for the UNEuropean CharterUnion throughitself; itswhereas aggressiveUkraine actionshas againstsuffered thefrom sovereignty,Russia’s independenceaggression andfor territorial10 integrityyears, starting with the occupation of UkraineCrimea andin toFebruary blatantly2014 and grosslythe violatesubsequent internationaloccupation humanitarianof law,parts asof establishedthe byDonetsk theand GenevaLugansk Conventionsregions oflater 1949;that year;

B. whereas the UN General Assembly, in its resolution of 2 March 2022, immediately qualified the Russian war against Ukraine as an act of aggression in violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, and, in its resolution of 14 November 2022, recognised the need to hold the Russian Federation accountable for its war of aggression and legally and financially responsible for its internationally wrongful acts, including by making reparation for the injury and damage caused;

B. whereas Ukraine and its citizens have shown unwavering determination in their resistance against Russia’s war of aggression, successfully defending their country, despite the high cost in civilian and military casualties, together with the destruction and weaponisation of civilian and public infrastructure, the natural environment and cultural heritage; whereas the brave people of Ukraine were awarded the 2022 Sakharov price as a tribute to their courage and their resilience;

C. whereas the ICC has been conducting an investigation into the situation in Ukraine since 2 March 2022 and on 17 March 2023 issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Maria Lvova-Belova, so-called Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, for the war crime of unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children; whereas the ICC following two ad hoc declarations by Ukraine, has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide when committed on the territory of Ukraine since November 2013, but does not have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression defined in Article 8 bis of the Rome Statute in this situation, as neither Ukraine nor the Russian Federation have ratified the Rome Statute and the amendments related to the crime of aggression; whereas the EU supports the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression;

C. whereas Russia’s forces have been continuing to carry out indiscriminate attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, forced deportations and disappearances, the illegal imprisonment and torture of Ukrainian citizens in Russia and the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, and acts of terror throughout the country, including the use of sexual violence and mass rape as a weapon of war;

D. whereas, as a reaction to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU has adopted 13 sanctions packages of unprecedented scope against the Russian Federation, has provided over EUR 80 billion of support to Ukraine in the form of humanitarian and emergency assistance, budget support, macro-financial assistance and military aid, has welcomed millions of refugees from Ukraine and has expressed its support for the people of Ukraine and their leadership by granting the country the status of a candidate country for EU membership;

D. whereas the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has been alarmed by reports and testimonies pointing to inhumane detention conditions of the Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war held by Russia, including torture and the lack of medical care, resulting in permanent damage to their health; whereas there are known cases of the Russian military killing Ukrainian soldiers instead of taking them prisoner, including those most recently reported on 24 February 2024 in the Bakhmut area; whereas in 2022 more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war, mostly members of the Azov Battalion, were deliberately killed in a premeditated explosion at the prison in Olenivka;

E. whereas the EU and its Member States, together with international partners and NATO allies, continue to provide substantial military support to Ukraine in order to assist it in exercising its legitimate right to self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter against Russia’s aggression; whereas military support to Ukraine, however, is being delivered in an insufficiently coordinated manner and unevenly across Member States;

E. whereas, according to the conservative estimates of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, almost two years into Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 10 000 civilians have been killed and nearly 20 000 injured, with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) believing that the actual figures are considerably higher;

F. whereas Ukraine’s armed forces are currently facing an acute shortage of artillery shells and ammunition, which severely reduces Ukraine’s ability to deter Russian attacks and has led to withdrawals from strategic positions;

F. whereas, according to the Kyiv School of Economics, as of January 2024, the direct documented damages inflicted upon Ukraine’s infrastructure by Russia stands at USD 155 billion; whereas according to the same estimate, at USD 58.9 billion, the housing stock remains in first place in terms of damage, with almost 250 000 buildings damaged or destroyed, while the damage to infrastructure has reached USD 36.8 billion and the direct damage to industry and businesses has reached USD 13.1 billion;

G. whereas the US Congress has failed to adopt a new USD 60 billion package of support to Ukraine for 2024 which has essentially led to a halt in US aid commitments and military deliveries to Ukraine; whereas to fully replace the US military support in 2024, the EU and its Member States would have to double their current level and pace of military support;

G. whereas Russia has forcibly transferred thousands of Ukrainian children to areas under its control, assigned them Russian citizenship, forcibly had them adopted into Russian families and created obstacles to reuniting them with their parents and homeland; whereas on 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, alleging responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia;

H. whereas the EU is establishing the so-called Ukraine Facility, a EUR 50 billion package of economic and financial support for Ukraine for the years 2024-2027, which will help the Ukrainian State deliver essential services to its citizens such as maintaining schools, hospitals and social security, as well as support private investment and grant technical assistance in order to work towards Ukraine’s economic and social recovery from the war, and its modernisation and reconstruction;

H. whereas Russia is also waging its war on the information battlefield, seeking to justify it by rewriting history and spreading baseless lies to vilify Ukraine and question its right to exist outside Russia’s sphere of influence; whereas the Russian authorities have deployed unprecedented means to disseminate these false narratives, as well as deceitful accounts of military developments in Ukraine and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, in purposeful attempts to manipulate public opinion in Europe and in Russia;

I. whereas, despite broad international condemnation of its war of aggression against Ukraine and unprecedented sanctions, the Russian political and military leadership, with the support of its regular army and proxies, continues to terrorise the people of Ukraine through indiscriminate attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure, targeted attacks on critical infrastructure, forced deportations and adoptions of deported children, mass killings, torture and rape;

I. whereas the European Union and many of its members have taken measures to rein in disinformation and hybrid threats, notably by adopting a ban on broadcasting in the EU by state-owned Russian outlets, some of which, however, still use European satellite service operators; whereas Russia has enforced a domestic crackdown to silence any discussion of its illegal war of aggression within its own population, so as to stifle internal opposition to it;

1. Underlines that Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine is a brutal attack against the peaceful life of European citizens and a grave violation of international law which threatens the security and stability, democracy and prosperity of the entire European continent in an unprecedented manner and which therefore requires equally unprecedented actions and unwavering solidarity and unity in response;

J. whereas Ukraine, as an independent and sovereign state, enjoys the fundamental right to determine its own future, including the freedom to choose its alliances and policies, and to pursue its national interests in accordance with the will of the Ukrainian people;

2. Acknowledges that the two-year anniversary of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine highlights that efforts made so far have not yet been sufficient to end the aggression; recalls the lessons learnt from the devastation caused by World War II and therefore urges the EU and its Member States to again demonstrate their solidarity and capacity to act against the devastation caused by Russia in Ukraine, in particular by increasing their military support to Ukraine and their capacity to deter further aggressions by Russia;

K. whereas a strong, democratic, stable and independent Ukraine is vital for the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area and crucial for fostering global peace and stability, and upholding the principles of democracy and international legality;

3. Urges the EU, its Member States and their international partners to undertake even more effective military, political and diplomatic efforts, and in particular to massively increase their military support to Ukraine in order to ultimately stop Russia’s war of aggression and allow Ukraine to liberate all its people, re-establish full control over its entire territory within its internationally recognised borders and deter any further aggression by Russia; insists that any peaceful solution to the war must be based on full respect for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, the principles of international law, accountability for war crimes and the crime of aggression, and Russian payments for the massive damage caused in Ukraine;

L. whereas Russia’s war of aggression has only brought Ukraine closer to the European Union, with Ukraine now a candidate country for membership in the EU and having received massive support across various sectors from the EU, including unprecedented military assistance;

4. Reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Ukraine who, two years after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, continue to experience destruction, loss of life and home as well as human suffering to an unbearable extent, but continue to show remarkable courage and resilience in fighting for their right to freedom, personal safety, and respect for their fundamental freedoms, and democratic and human rights;

M. whereas the EU has adopted 13 packages of sanctions since the onset of the war and has created a new role of International Special Envoy for the Implementation of EU Sanctions, specifically tasked with tackling the evasion and circumvention of sanctions targeting Russia and Belarus as its proxy;

5. Reiterates its condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its demands that the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally cease its attacks against residential areas and civilian infrastructure, terminate all military activities in Ukraine, withdraw all military forces, proxies and military equipment from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine, end forced deportations of Ukrainian civilians, release and return all detained Ukrainians, and permanently cease violating or threatening the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine;

N. whereas the EU institutions have recently reached an agreement to establish an EUR 50 billion Ukraine Facility, which will provide stable and sustainable financing for the period 2024-2027 to support Ukraine’s recovery, reconstruction and modernisation, including key reforms necessary on its path towards EU accession;

6. Underlines that military support to Ukraine is a reaction to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its breach of international law and the UN Charter and aims to stop the persistent violations of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity that have been ongoing since 2014;

O. whereas Ukraine has demonstrated significant progress in advancing crucial reforms and exhibits a clear commitment to EU and NATO integration and to fundamental European values;

7. Calls therefore on the EU and its Member States to step up their efforts to ensure effective and sustainable long-term military support to Ukraine; calls on the Member States to take all necessary action to fulfil their commitment of March 2023 to deliver one million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine as swiftly as possible; recognises the efforts made, in particular by the Member States in providing military support and by the VP/HR in coordinating it; underlines, however, that insufficient deliveries of weapons and ammunition risk undermining the efforts made so far and therefore urges the Member States, especially those who are lagging behind, to substantially increase and significantly accelerate their military support with a view to not only allowing Ukraine to defend itself against Russian attacks but also to regain full control over its entire internationally recognised territory; welcomes the initial proposal by the High Representative for the creation of a EUR 20 billion Ukraine Assistance Fund within the European Peace Facility, dedicated to supporting the Ukrainian armed forces with up to EUR 5 billion per year between 2023 and 2027; regrets that the Member States have lowered this ambition to a EUR 5 billion top-up and urges them to reach a rapid agreement in this regard; welcomes the VP/HR’s proposal for an increased target of 60 000 Ukrainian soldiers to be trained in 2024; urges the Member States, however, to accelerate the development of military ammunition production capacities, with particular focus on joint projects with Ukraine; calls on the Member States to submit additional orders to ammunition industries in order to deliver the production to Ukraine and to ensure that manufacturers strictly prioritise the delivery of ammunition to Ukraine over exports to third countries; calls on the EU and its Member States to explore the possibilities for joint ventures and close cooperation with defence industries from like-minded third countries for the purposes of providing the necessary ammunition to Ukraine; welcomes the security agreements concluded between EU Member States and Ukraine as a signal of long-term military support to Ukraine;

P. whereas the commitment made in Versailles by the Heads of State or Government on 11 March 2022 to strengthen European defence capabilities in the light of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, following a strategic course of action aimed at enhancing the Union’s ability to act autonomously in the field of defence in complementarity to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the recent declarations by the members of the European Council and the Commission, notably in the context of the recent Munich Conference on Security, on the imperative for a European leap in the light of the Kremlin regime, the need to strengthen the European pillar of NATO and to jointly develop our defence industries over the long term call for a broad mobilisation of European will and resources;

8. Calls on the EU and its Member States to fulfil the commitments of the 2022 Versailles Declaration and to accelerate the full implementation of the Strategic Compass by enhancing European military cooperation at industrial and armed forces level, in order to make the EU a stronger and more capable security provider that is interoperable and complementary with NATO; welcomes Member States’ and EU institutions’ increased budgets and investments in defence, and calls for an increase in targeted spending, joint procurement and joint investment in defence research and development; stresses that concrete steps should be taken towards Ukraine’s integration in EU defence and cybersecurity policies and programmes during the EU membership process;

Q. whereas on 13 February 2024 Maksim Kuzminov, a former Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine in 2023, was found dead in Spain, murdered by gunmen reportedly sent by the Russian Government; whereas over the last few decades, the Russian intelligence services have carried out a number of brazen covert operations, including assassinations, on EU territory;

9. Expresses its support for Ukraine’s peace plan, which lists important elements that will need to be addressed in establishing a just peace and calls on the EU and its Member States to actively support the efforts at increasing international support for re-establishing peace and justice;

1. Reiterates its solidarity with and pays tribute to the brave people of Ukraine, who are courageously continuing to defend their country’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity; acknowledges and commends Ukraine’s significant contribution to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area and the defence of its values by resisting Russia’s war of aggression;

10. Calls on the Council to maintain its sanctions policy against the Russian Federation, but to continue enhancing its effectiveness and impact with a view to ultimately undermining Russia’s ability to continue waging the war; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure and monitor swift implementation and strict enforcement of all sanctions and to continuously review their effectiveness; welcomes the thirteenth sanctions package of 24 February 2024, and calls for consideration to be given to including persons identified by Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and to continue preparations for further sanctions, including sanctions against individuals and entities and sectoral sanctions, in particular on imports of all Russian fossil fuels, including fossil and liquefied natural gas transported by pipeline or shipment, as well as on the uranium and nuclear energy industry, and also to fully align the sanctions against Belarus with those against Russia;

2. Reiterates its condemnation in the strongest terms of Russia’s unprovoked, illegal and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine and calls on Russia to immediately terminate all military activities in Ukraine and unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine;

11. Calls on the Council to systematically tackle the issue of sanctions circumvention by third parties and third countries 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; calls, in this regard, on the Council to consider the introduction of secondary sanctions based on a step-by-step approach;

3. Reaffirms its determination to continue supporting Ukraine until the full restoration and control of its internationally recognised borders and throughout the process of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction;

12. Reiterates that the Russian Federation’s deliberate attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine, destruction of civilian infrastructure, use of sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war, deportation of thousands of Ukrainian citizens to the territory of the Russian Federation, forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children, and other serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law all constitute war crimes for which all perpetrators must be held accountable;

4. Acknowledges the resilience and determination demonstrated by the Ukrainian people in their pursuit of democratic values, reform efforts and aspirations for integration into the Euro-Atlantic community of nations;

13. Expresses 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; urges Ukraine to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC and its amendments and formally become a member of the ICC in order to support international efforts to establish accountability for serious international crimes; calls for the EU to make further diplomatic efforts to encourage the ratification of the Rome Statute and all its amendments globally;

5. Encourages the EU and the Member States to provide increased support and assistance to Ukraine on its path to accession, including technical expertise, capacity-building and institutional reforms necessary to meet the membership criteria;

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15. Reiterates its firm conviction that the Russian Federation must pay for the massive damage caused in Ukraine; welcomes therefore the Council’s decision to set aside, as a first step, extraordinary revenues generated by assets and reserves of the Central Bank of Russia immobilised under EU sanctions, which will allow them to be used to make a financial contribution to the EU’s support for the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine through the Ukraine Facility; calls on the Commission and the Council to urgently take the work forward and propose legislation to enable the confiscation of immobilised state-owned Russian assets for the purpose of Ukraine’s reconstruction;

7. Reiterates its condemnation of the forcible deportation of Ukrainian civilians to Russia, territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia, and Belarus; calls on all states and international organisations to press Russia to return all forcibly deported and illegally imprisoned Ukrainian civilians, especially children, including the remains of all those who died in captivity; urges the EU and its Member States to intensify the search for mechanisms to facilitate the release of Ukrainian civilians illegally detained by Russia, including through UN mechanisms;

16. Emphasises the need to support Ukraine in re-establishing the conditions that will allow its people to resume a safe and prosperous economic and social life and to recover from the profound consequences of the war on mental health, for internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their homes, and in particular for the country’s younger generation to develop personal, educational and entrepreneurial projects in their home country of Ukraine; welcomes therefore the EU’s commitment to providing, together with international partners and in close cooperation with the authorities of Ukraine, support to Ukraine’s economic and social recovery and reconstruction, in particular through the establishment of the EU’s Ukraine Facility and its EUR 50 billion package of economic and financial support for the years 2024-2027; encourages the Ukrainian authorities, together with international donors, to put to use the successes of the country’s 2014 decentralisation reform and to empower local authorities and communities in the reconstruction and recovery process, inter alia by giving them a prominent role in decision-making about reconstruction projects and by continuing their capacity-building with a view to strengthening public financial management and project management capacities; in addition, underlines the need to take into account the concerns, needs and expertise of internally displaced persons and refugees as their reintegration into local communities will be crucial for strengthening Ukraine’s societal and institutional resilience, and unity;

8. Reiterates its condemnation of the forced abduction of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia, and Belarus; strongly condemns the illegal assignment of Russian citizenship to those children and their illegal adoption; urges the EU and its Member States to intensify their efforts to facilitate the return of those children; calls for the EU and the Member States to support efforts to hold all those responsible for organising the illegal deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children accountable in accordance with international law; calls on the Council and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to impose targeted sanctions under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against the individuals responsible for the forcible transfer and illegal adoption of Ukrainian children;

17. Welcomes the European aspirations of the people of Ukraine and calls on Ukraine’s political leaders and authorities to vigorously pursue the EU-related reform agenda and the priorities set out in the Commission’s report of November 2023 in order for the Council to adopt the negotiation framework for accession negotiations as soon as possible;

9. Condemns the deliberate torture and killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian side; calls for an independent investigation into and the prosecution of such crimes, and calls for increased efforts to exchange prisoners between Ukraine and Russia;

18. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to significantly increase their measures aimed at countering the complex hybrid threat posed by the Russian Federation; calls in particular for efforts to enhance education and awareness-raising among European citizens, and for sufficient resources to be allocated to counteract disinformation, and to develop and implement countermeasures to mitigate the increased use of artificial intelligence technologies in disinformation, in particular with a view to protecting European democratic processes and societal cohesion ahead of the upcoming European elections;

10. Reiterates its continued concern about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP), which is illegally occupied and controlled by the Russian Federation, and serves as a site for Russia’s military deployment; supports efforts to maintain a continued International Atomic Energy Agency presence at the Zaporizhzhia NPP; underlines the importance of reinforcing the international framework for the protection of nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes, including in armed conflicts; recalls and condemns Russia’s actions which have inflicted severe harm on the environment in Ukraine, including the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, the logging of Ukrainian forests, extensive mining and the contamination of air and water resources; reiterates its deep concern about the broader long-term environmental impact of the war;

19. Urges the Russian people to protest against the war crimes being perpetrated in the name of the Russian Federation by the country’s leadership and its proxies and thereby to contribute to ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; calls on the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to increase support to civil society, anti-war opposition and independent media in and from Russia and to continue to provide protection and temporary shelter to those Russians who are being prosecuted due to their opposition to the regime;

11. Condemns Russia’s intention to conduct presidential elections on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine on 15-17 March 2024 and underlines that it will not recognise the results of these illegal elections;

20. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the President, Government and Parliament of Ukraine.

12. Reiterates its call on the Member States to adopt further substantial sanction packages against Russia and its allies, particularly Belarus, in order to strategically weaken Russia’s war capacity; calls for prompt and comprehensive restrictions on the import of Russian oil, nuclear fuel and gas, including liquefied natural gas; condemns the behaviour of the states, entities and individuals that help Russia to circumvent EU sanctions; reiterates its call on the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to develop a sanction circumvention prevention mechanism; reiterates its call for European companies to withdraw their operations from Russia; calls on the Member States to take particular measures to prevent advanced technology products that are being exported to non-EU countries from ending up in Russia; calls on the Member States to very strictly prosecute individuals or entities participating in the circumvention of EU sanctions;

13. Welcomes the recent Council decision clarifying the obligations of Central Securities Depositories holding assets and reserves of the Central Bank of Russia, which are immobilised as a consequence of the EU’s restrictive measures; reiterates, however, its call for the EU and its Member States to find legal avenues allowing for the confiscation of frozen Russian assets and for their use for the reconstruction of Ukraine and compensation for the victims of Russia’s aggression;

14. Reaffirms its commitment to Ukraine’s membership of the European Union, which represents a geostrategic investment in a united and strong Europe; repeats its call for Ukraine’s gradual integration into the EU single market and sectoral programmes, including access to EU funds in the respective areas; supports the Commission proposal to renew the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU; urges the Commission to address any reports of market disruption caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the trade benefits conceded to Ukraine; calls on the Commission and the Member States to prevent any unilateral actions, such as border blockades, which would limit Ukraine’s access to the EU single market;

15. Underlines that the accession process will be merit-based, and that the renewed enlargement methodology puts an emphasis on the crucial areas of respect for the rule of law, fundamental values, human rights, democracy and the fight against corruption from the very start; strongly believes that a firm, merit-based prospect of EU membership for Ukraine is in the Union’s own political, economic and security interests;

16. Calls on the Council and the Commission to set out a clear pathway for the accession negotiations, focusing on providing tangible benefits for Ukrainian society and citizens from the start of the process; invites the Council to task the Commission with immediately submitting proposals for the relevant negotiating framework and to adopt it once the relevant steps set out in the respective Commission recommendations of 8 November 2023 have been taken;

17. Underlines that the EU must continue and strengthen its financial, technical and political support to Ukraine in order to assist with its EU integration and that the Union itself must undertake the necessary reforms in view of future enlargements;

18. Welcomes the agreement on the establishment of the Ukraine Facility and calls for its rapid deployment; highlights the need for the EU and the Member States to continue to explore additional avenues of support for Ukraine; regrets the unnecessary delay by the United States in approving the next tranche of urgently needed assistance to Ukraine;

19. Calls for the EU, the Member States and like-minded partners to provide comprehensive and coordinated political, economic, technical and humanitarian assistance to support the sustainable and inclusive post-war reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine, with a particular emphasis on the restoration of essential infrastructure, healthcare, education and social services; calls for the EU and the Member States to continue to provide medical treatment and rehabilitation, including psychological support, to injured and bereaved Ukrainian soldiers and civilians; calls for continuous attention and increased support for demining activities in Ukraine and for a long-term demining programme;

20. Considers that the military support to Ukraine from the EU and the Member States, although it amounts to around EUR 28 billion, has not been sufficient in quality and volume to allow Ukraine to defeat Russia; urges the EU and the Member States, therefore, along with its like-minded partners, to increase the production, joint procurement and delivery of the weapons and ammunition necessary for Ukraine, including air defence equipment, and to enhance military cooperation with Ukraine, including through the provision of increased capabilities, tailor-made training, joint production and capacity-building; reiterates its support for the substantial expansion of these measures and for the need to make full use of the European Peace Facility (EPF) which needs long-term funding; denounces the fact that since August 2023, one Member State has been blocking since the eighth tranche of military aid to Ukraine, via the EPF; urges the EU and the Member States to explore additional ways to mobilise EU financial resources for defence; calls for the EU and the Member States to significantly increase their efforts to develop the EU’s strategic autonomy, particularly in strengthening EU defence capabilities in cooperation with NATO and developing a more coherent and impactful EU foreign policy; calls for the EU and the Member States to sanction circumventions of military and dual-use goods export controls more effectively;

21. Reiterates its position that representatives of local self-government and civil society in Ukraine must be actively involved in the recovery and reconstruction process and that this process must meet the highest standards of transparency and accountability;

22. Calls on the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to strengthen strategic communication and provide relevant information on the mutual benefits and opportunities of enlargement both in Ukraine and in the Member States in order to further increase support and improve understanding of the accession process; calls on the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to improve the visibility of EU funding and its tangible results in Ukraine; insists that the EU and Ukrainian civil society play an active role in the implementation of these objectives;

23. Calls for the EU and the Member States to work strategically and proactively to counter hybrid threats and to prevent interference by Russia and its agents in the West in political, electoral and other democratic processes in Ukraine and in the EU, in particular malicious acts aimed at manipulating public opinion and undermining European integration;

24. Condemns the assassination of Maksim Kuzminov in Spain; calls on the Member States to respond promptly and with resolve against disruptive actions by the Russian intelligence services within the EU’s territory; recommends that the Member States enhance counterintelligence cooperation and information-sharing;

25. Notes that, notwithstanding the Russian leadership’s assertion of openness to negotiations, Russia’s blatant disregard for and violation of established norms and agreements to which it had committed has significantly undermined the trustworthiness of the current regime in Moscow and, as a result, the feasibility of engaging in meaningful negotiations with it;

26. 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, and the President, Government and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.