The European Union has responded with outrage to a new wave of strikes on Ukrainian cities marking an escalation in fighting that hasn’t been seen for months.
“What is happening is sickening this indiscriminate attack on children, the people going by their daily lives, going to school civilians being killed … is absolutely reprehensible,” the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, told Euronews.
“For me, I will repeat what I’ve always said, appeasement has never worked and appeasement will never work. These are war crimes and the response has to be proportionate.”
She added that the bloc should continue to support Ukraine.
“Ukraine must win this war and we must do everything to make sure that Ukraine wins the war,” she said.
“We must respond to Ukraine’s demands. They are fighting for their lives. We have a war in Europe. We can’t let the Kremlin get away with it”.
At least 11 people have died and another 64 were injured in the recent attacks.
The spokesperson for the European Commission, Peter Stano, also claimed that the strikes “amount to a war crime.”
And the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, has backed the creation of an international tribunal to investigate possible war crimes committed in Ukraine.
She condemned Russia’s “vicious attacks” in a joint video message with Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has also condemned the attacks on civilian infrastructure and stated that the Alliance will continue to support Kyiv for as long as necessary.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, condemning “the Kremlin’s horrific strikes” and vowing that Washington would continue “unwavering economic, humanitarian, and security assistance” to Ukraine.
President Joe Biden says civilian deaths caused by missile attacks across Ukraine illustrate the “utter brutality” of the war led Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The United States strongly condemns Russia’s missile strikes today across Ukraine, including in Kyiv,” a White House statement said. “These attacks killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose. They once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Mr. Putin’s illegal war on the Ukrainian people.”
British Prime Minister Liz Truss says Russia’s missile strikes across Ukraine are a sign of Ukrainian success and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “increasing desperation”.
Truss spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday. “The UK stands wholeheartedly behind President Zelenskyy and Ukraine. Putin’s destructive rhetoric and behavior will not diminish our resolve,” the prime minister’s office said.
Leaders of the G7, which Germany currently chairs, are due to hold a videoconference on Tuesday on the situation, which Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy is expected to join.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the series of strikes across Ukraine came in retaliation against the weekend’s Ukrainian attack on a bridge to Crimea and other attacks in Russia that he described as “terrorist” actions.
Source: Euronews
