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

B100306/2025

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 its previous resolutions on Ukraine and on Russia, in particular those adopted following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula on 19 February 2014,

– having regard to the UN Charter, the Hague Conventions, the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC),

– having regard to the Association Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, and to the accompanying Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between the European Union and Ukraine, signed in 2014,

– having regard to the European Council’s decision of 14 December 2023 to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, following the Commission’s positive recommendation of 8 November 2023 in this regard,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 establishing the Ukraine Facility, and to other forms of EU support for Ukraine,

– having regard to all relevant resolutions by the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, in particular UN General Assembly Resolution ES-11/7 adopted on 24 February 2025,

– having regard to the NATO Washington Summit Declaration of 10 July 2024 and he Hague Summit Declaration of 25 June 2025,

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

A. whereas the Russian Federation has been waging a brutal, illegal, unprovoked and unjustified full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine since 24 February 2022;

B. whereas Russia’s aggression against Ukraine did not begin in February 2022, but in 2014, with the illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions;

C. whereas Russia’s aggression against Ukraine caused the largest forced displacement of civilians in Europe since World War II, with 10 million Ukrainians – mostly women and children – displaced, including 7 million who have found refuge abroad;

D. whereas Russia continues unabated to commit heinous war crimes against innocent civilians; whereas according to the Ukrainian authorities, approximately 16 000 Ukrainian civilians are known to be currently detained in Russia, although the real figures are likely to be significantly higher; whereas more than 70 000 Ukrainians – including civilians, children, and military personnel – are officially listed as missing;

E. whereas, since February 2022, the Russian authorities have systematically carried out enforced disappearances against large numbers of Ukrainian civilians, detaining individuals with no military affiliation on baseless and fabricated charges; with their fate and whereabouts remaining unknown, leaving their families in agonising uncertainty;

F. whereas, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 29 civilians have died in custody in Russian detention facilities, and 170 have been executed in areas under Russian control since February 2022; whereas according to the Centre for Civil Liberties, at least 7 000 civilians are being held captive in the Russian Federation and in the occupied territories of Ukraine;

G. whereas throughout the process of enforced disappearances, Russian authorities have consistently failed to inform the families of the fate or location of their loved ones; whereas multiple responses from various authorities have likewise failed to provide any meaningful information;

H. whereas enforced disappearances by Russia are part of a widespread, systematic, and coordinated assault against Ukraine’s civilian population;

I. whereas in April 2024, the authorities of the Russian Federation announced a massive increase in investment in penal infrastructure from RUB 105 billion to RUB 1.113 trillion, equivalent to an increase of approximately EUR 11 billion, which includes building new pre-trial detention centres and correctional facilities in Russia and in the occupied territories of Ukraine;

J. whereas the Russian authorities have systematically employed torture and other forms of inhumane and degrading treatment against numerous illegally detained Ukrainian civilians; whereas the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has found evidence of Russia using rape and sexual violence as means of torture against both male and female detainees;

K. whereas Russia refuses to disclose the number of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) currently being held in Russia; whereas Russian authorities are blatantly failing to meet their obligations under the Geneva Conventions to allow international representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the prisoners and to transmit the relevant information to the ICRC, state authorities and the families of POWs;

L. whereas Ukrainian POWs and civilian captives are being subjected to starvation, denial of medical care, beatings, various types of coercion, and physical, sexual and psychological violence;

M. whereas according to the Ukrainian authorities, more than 150 Ukrainian POWs have been executed after having surrendered; whereas there has been a sharp increase in executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces since 2024; whereas the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is currently investigating the execution of 268 Ukrainian POWs;

N. whereas on 23-25 May a three-day prisoner exchange took place following agreements reached between Ukraine and Russia, whereby 1 000 Ukrainian and 1 000 Russian POWs were released;

O. whereas according to the ‘Bring Kids Back UA’ and the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab initiative, since February 2022 around 20 000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia and Belarus or detained in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, with only 1 366 returned and 637 confirmed dead; whereas the real figures are assumed to be much higher, as these transfers and deportations continue;

P. whereas, on 17 March 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for their responsibility in the war crime of unlawful transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children;

1. Condemns, in the strongest possible terms, Russia’s continued war of aggression against Ukraine; demands that Russia immediately terminate all military activities in Ukraine and unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine;

2. Confirms its unwavering commitment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognised borders, and reiterates its policy of non-recognition of Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by Russia, including Crimea; strongly underlines Ukraine’s inherent right to self-defence, in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which entails the right to strike military targets on Russian soil;

3. Reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the heroic defence of their nation, their land, and shared European values; reiterates its belief that a strong, independent and democratic Ukraine is vital for Europe’s security, stability and prosperity;

4. Condemns Vladimir Putin’s revisionist and imperialist rhetoric, treacherous propaganda and barbaric ideology; denounces the systematic attempts by the Russian government to erase Ukraine’s language, culture and identity; condemns the latest public statement during the St Petersburg Economic Forum again claiming that the Russians and Ukrainians are one people and suggesting that where Russian soldiers’ boots stand becomes Russia;

5. Stresses that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has shattered peace and stability in Europe and gravely undermined global security; underscores that Russia remains the most significant and direct threat to European security;

6. Reiterates that Russia bears sole responsibility for its war of aggression and that there can be no impunity for violations of human rights, war crimes or other breaches of international law committed by Russian forces and officials; expresses deep outrage at Russia’s brutal attacks on civilians and its indiscriminate targeting of civilian infrastructure; demands that Russia immediately cease all brutal attacks on Ukraine’s civilian population and critical infrastructure; stresses that the systematic and deliberate targeting of civilians constitutes part of a genocidal strategy orchestrated and executed by the Russian government;

7. Fully supports the ICC in its ongoing investigations of the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian Federation; welcomes the recent agreement between the Council of Europe and Ukraine on the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine; emphasises that all those responsible for war crimes perpetrated in Ukraine must be held accountable and stresses that justice is essential for any sustainable peace;

8. Reiterates its condemnation of Russia’s forcible deportation, illegal detention and inhumane treatment of countless Ukrainian civilians; demands that Russia immediately provide families with accurate information regarding the whereabouts and health conditions of detainees and subsequently calls for the immediate release of all Ukrainian civilians currently held captive by the Russian authorities; underscores that the forced displacement, unlawful detention, and mistreatment of Ukrainian civilians exemplify the intrinsic brutality of the Russian regime and its flagrant disregard for human life; strongly condemns the gruesome tactics deployed by the Russian authorities against both Ukrainian civilians and POWs; deplores the widespread and systematic use of terror in Ukraine’s occupied territories, aimed at intimidating the civilian population, stifling resistance and political dissent, suppressing civic activism, and eradicating the Ukrainian language and national identity;

9. Strongly condemns the violent actions of the Russian Federation and the complicity of Belarus in the mistreatment of Ukrainian children, including murder, torture and criminal prosecution, forced transfer and deportation, sexual abuse and exploitation, forced Russification and militarisation; denounces the forced imposition of Russian citizenship on deported children and their state-sponsored adoption by Russian families as part of a deliberate policy of forced assimilation; demands that Russia disclose the identities and locations of all deported Ukrainian children and ensure their safe, unconditional return; urges the EU to hold those responsible to account and to sanction individuals and entities implicated in these crimes;

10. Demands that, in line with Russia’s obligations under the respective Geneva Conventions, Russia grant international representatives of the ICRC immediate access to POW camps and other sites where Ukrainian soldiers or civilians are being held captive;

11. Reaffirms the EU’s steadfast commitment to the reconstruction of Ukraine and reiterates its readiness to contribute to rebuilding Ukraine’s economy and infrastructure; stresses the strategic importance of the Ukraine Facility in reinforcing Ukraine’s resilience, accelerating its recovery, and supporting its path toward sustainable development and EU membership;

12. Condemns the Russian State Duma’s protocol adopted on 24 June 2025 allowing the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization to deploy their troops on the territory of other members in the event of armed conflict, threats, crisis situations, and military exercises; condemns this step as a clear attempt by Russia to further scale up its relentless attacks on Ukraine by forcibly mobilising troops from neighbouring and allied states;

13. Condemns Belarus’s direct involvement in Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine; welcomes the release of Belarus opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski and 13 other prisoners; recalls that over 1 400 political prisoners continue to be unlawfully detained in Belarus and calls for their immediate and unconditional release;

14. Commends the Ukrainian armed forces for their recent offensives near Toretsk and Kherson and pays tribute to their extraordinary resilience and determination;

15. Urges the Member States and their defence industries to invest in and partner with Ukraine’s defence industry in order to maximise the full potential of its production capabilities and to integrate it into EU defence initiatives and make it part of the European defence technological and industrial base; welcomes Ukraine’s efforts to strengthen its domestic defence industrial base, including through the production of drones and other critical technologies;

16. Underscores the significant damage EU economic sanctions are inflicting upon Russia; urges the current momentum to be taken advantage of to further weaken the Russian economy as it heads towards recession;

17. Draws attention to recent statements by Russia’s Minister for Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov and Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, who publicly addressed the risk of a looming recession and the precarious foundations underpinning Russia’s current growth rates;

18. Calls for all necessary steps to be taken to avoid the circumvention of sanctions, in particular by targeting Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ vessels; calls for a full ban on Russian liquefied natural gas, oil and raw materials; underlines the importance of adopting the 18th sanctions package without further delay; calls on Member States that are blocking the adoption of the latest sanctions package to follow other Member States that successfully found alternative sources of gas deliveries;

19. Recalls that military support to Ukraine must be sufficient to stop Russia’s war of aggression and allow Ukraine to liberate all its people, re-establish full control over its territory within its internationally recognised borders and deter any further aggression by Russia; recalls that Europe has already supported Ukraine with EUR 50 billion in military aid but underlines that further assistance is required and that such support now depends largely on Europe itself; urges the Member States to provide more arms and ammunition to Ukraine before any negotiations are concluded; denounces any attempts to put pressure on Ukraine to cede occupied territory, in which the population is exposed to continued repression, violence, forced disappearances, illegal detentions, deportations and other forms of systemic terror;

20. Expresses its full support for any efforts directed towards achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine on terms that are acceptable to Ukraine and its people, preserving its sovereignty and territorial integrity and ensuring the country’s future security is not undermined, prosecuting those responsible for war crimes, and securing reparations; stresses that peace negotiations must be preceded by an unconditional ceasefire;

21. Stresses that in the light of the shift in the United States’ stance on Russia’s war of aggression, the EU and its Member States must remain Ukraine’s primary strategic allies and should reinforce their leadership role in supporting Ukraine’s struggle for sovereignty, peace and justice;

22. 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 Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the President, Government and parliament of Ukraine, and to Russia and Belarus.