On the human cost of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the urgent need to end Russian aggression: the situation of illegally detained civilians and prisoners of war, and the continued bombing of civilians

B100303/2025

European Parliament resolution on the human cost of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the urgent need to end Russian aggression: the situation of illegally detained civilians and prisoners of war, and the continued bombing of civilians

(2025/2710(RSP))

– having regard to the UN Charter,

– having regard to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the additional protocols thereto,

– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights,

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

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

– having regard to the reports of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine and the UN Special Rapporteurs on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been ongoing since 24 February 2022, has caused immense human suffering, including by killing more than 13 000 civilians and injuring over 32 000, and killing or wounding hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and through the indiscriminate bombing and destruction of Ukrainian civil infrastructure;

B. whereas the war in eastern Ukraine, which began in 2014, has also resulted in thousands of civilian victims and caused enormous human suffering;

C. whereas the wars have displaced over 14 million Ukrainians, both internally and across Europe, and left entire regions devastated, while also being used to justify increased militarisation and massive arms spending across the EU;

D. whereas Russia is currently detaining over 16 000 Ukrainian civilians, including elected officials, journalists and human rights defenders, and at least 8 000 prisoners of war (POWs), often holding them incommunicado and in violation of the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions; whereas humane treatment and the legal rights of POWs are enshrined in the Geneva Conventions;

E. whereas Ukraine is also detaining Russian POWs, and both parties are bound by international law to treat detainees humanely and respect their legal rights;

F. whereas more than 5 700 POWs have been exchanged between Russia and Ukraine since 2022;

G. whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross has inspected the conditions of detention for Russian POWs in Ukraine; whereas the Russian authorities continue to deny access to the Ukrainian POWs and civilian detainees held by Russia, thus violating international humanitarian law;

H. whereas the EU has applied a comprehensive sanctions regime against Russia, including measures targeting energy, finance and dual-use goods, but has failed to apply even symbolic or limited sanctions against Israel, despite overwhelming evidence of large-scale violations of international law;

I. whereas since October 2023, Israel’s military assault on Gaza has killed over 56 000 Palestinians and injured over 125 000, including children, destroyed much of the civilian infrastructure and displaced more than 2 million people; whereas 3 300 of the more than 10 000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, including more than 950 minors, are currently being held in administrative detention, without charge or trial, and are often subjected to torture or beatings or die in custody, as documented by independent human rights groups; whereas the destruction of hospitals, refugee camps, universities and water infrastructure in Gaza constitutes collective punishment and a potential war crime under international law;

J. whereas the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the current Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Kaja Kallas, while having repeatedly condemned Russian war crimes, have failed to condemn Israeli crimes and have instead publicly praised the Israeli Government and military under the pretext of ‘self-defence’, undermining the EU’s credibility and possibly breaching EU and international legal obligations;

K. whereas the EU continues to preach a rules-based order, but applies international law selectively, issuing sanctions and arms embargoes against Russia while deepening military cooperation with Israel, a state accused of genocide, apartheid and war crimes by multiple UN and civil society and human rights organisations;

L. whereas the continued logic of military escalation, lethal weapons deliveries and third-country involvement risks prolonging the war in Ukraine and increasing the suffering of civilians, while closing the space for peace diplomacy and ceasefire negotiations;

M. whereas a just and lasting peace can only be achieved through diplomacy, ceasefire and adherence to the principles of the UN Charter, not through further militarisation or indefinite war;

1. Reiterates its condemnation of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians and infrastructure; demands that Russia immediately, completely and unconditionally cease all attacks against residential areas and civilian infrastructure; demands that Russia permanently cease violating or threatening the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine; condemns the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian population by the Russian army and the indiscriminate destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure; calls, after 11 years of war in Ukraine, for a just and lasting peace, which requires taking into account the causes of the conflict and putting an end to the strategy of instigating and prolonging the war;

2. Demands the immediate release of all Ukrainian civilians, including children, detained by Russian forces, and insists that the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN bodies be granted full access to all detention sites; condemns the use of detainees and POWs for propaganda, staged interviews, and coerced public statements; strongly condemns the execution of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners; calls for the EU, its Member States and international partners to increase pressure on Russia to comply with its international obligations, particularly the Geneva Conventions, and to allow international organisations access to prisoners;

3. Expresses deep alarm at the widespread use of torture, sexual violence and ill-treatment in detention facilities and calls for a UN-led international inquiry into these abuses; insists that all POWs, on both sides, be treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law;

4. Welcomes the ongoing prisoner exchanges and encourages future agreements, especially involving wounded combatants, minors and arbitrarily detained civilians;

5. Values the direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine that is ongoing in Istanbul as an important step that should make an effective contribution to advancing a negotiation process that addresses the causes of the conflict, paving the way for a just and lasting peace in Europe;

6. Denounces the EU’s blatant double standards in applying international law, particularly its unwillingness to apply any form of sanctions, conditionality or suspension of agreements with Israel, despite grave and ongoing human rights violations and war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank; condemns the mass arbitrary detention of Palestinians, including children, and demands their immediate release;

7. Deplores the EU leadership’s silence and complicity, particularly that of Commission President von der Leyen and VP/HR Kaja Kallas, who have refused to condemn the Israeli Government for the use of starvation and siege warfare and the killing of thousands of civilians in Gaza;

8. Warns that such silence may constitute political and moral complicity in war crimes, and demands that the EU’s policy toward Israel be reviewed immediately;

9. Stresses that sanctions and restrictive measures must be based on international law, not geopolitical alignment, and that the failure to sanction Israel while sanctioning Russia undermines the EU’s credibility and legal coherence; calls for a fundamental reassessment of EU external action to ensure consistency, legality and universal respect for human rights and international humanitarian law; calls for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, an immediate end to all military cooperation and a comprehensive EU arms embargo on Israel, as was applied against Russia;

10. Expresses grave concern over the escalation of the war in Ukraine and calls on all parties to urgently prioritise de-escalation, ceasefire and diplomatic solutions over continued arms transfers and military escalation;

11. Stresses that peace and security are not achieved by promoting a policy of confrontation, arms escalation and war, but through diplomacy, dialogue and the political resolution of conflicts, through collective security and through respect for the principles of the UN Charter and international law;

12. Stresses that peace and security mean improving wages and pensions, ensuring a high standard of healthcare, education, social security and public services, guaranteeing the right to housing, and improving living conditions, and not promoting militarism, arms escalation and war;

13. Express its opposition to the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 and the outcome of the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, where NATO members made a commitment to invest 5 % of GDP annually in defence and security-related spending by 2035, and demands that EU resources be redirected from military budgets towards civilian reconstruction, social and climate justice, energy security and humanitarian support, in Ukraine, the EU and globally;

14. Supports the efforts of neutral mediators to broker dialogue, ceasefires and negotiations between the parties to end the war; underlines that any genuine peace negotiations must be conducted in good faith and include Ukraine; calls for negotiation channels to be opened with a view to achieving a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine, a response to the need for collective security and disarmament in Europe and compliance with the principles of the UN Charter and the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference;

15. 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 of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the Government of Ukraine, the Government of the Russian Federation, the State of Israel, and the Palestinian Authority.