The horrifying scale of Russia’s war crimes against Ukrainian civilians since the Kremlin launched its full-scale war of aggression in February 2022 is laid bare in a European Parliament resolution adopted today by MEPs.

The resolution, which follows a debate in June — both initiated by the ECR Group — highlights the mass displacement of Ukrainians since the full-scale conflict began, with some ten million civilians having to flee their homes, either internally or outside Ukraine’s borders — what the resolution calls “the largest forced displacement of civilians in Europe since the Second World War.”

But other Ukrainians have been forcibly removed outside Ukraine’s borders: the resolution emphasises that “approximately 16 000 Ukrainian civilians are known to be currently detained in Russia and the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.”

The resolution further highlights the Russian state’s systematic efforts to abduct, deport and facilitate the adoption of up to 35,000 Ukrainian children.

Michał Dworczyk MEP denounced the impunity of the Putin regime and those that have committed war crimes in its name. He said:

“The numerous reports from Ukraine of inhumane treatment and murder of prisoners of war and prisoners are not only a violation of all international norms, but above all a flagrant violation of fundamental human rights. Such acts are a disgrace to humanity and cannot go unpunished.”

The Polish politician added:

“As Poles, we have experienced this barbarity firsthand, most tragically in 1940, when over 22,000 Polish officers were executed on Stalin’s orders in the Katyn massacre.”

Reinis Pozņaks MEP stressed the need to understand the nature of Russian imperialism and the consequent need to help Ukraine win the war. He said:

“Russia continues to do the only thing it knows how to do — terrorise civilians, deport and torture. This is nothing new. Both the Baltic states, Ukraine and many other countries have gone through this during the Soviet occupation. We still cannot free ourselves from dependence on Russian resources and we still cannot provide Ukraine with everything it needs to defeat and punish the aggressor.”

Drawing attention to the forced abduction of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, Veronika Vrecionová MEP said:

“Among other things, Russia has kidnapped thousands of children from Ukraine. Russia wants to continue to wage war and kill under various excuses and continue to deliberately murder and torture civilians. Therefore, let us not be infected by the propaganda of the Russian regime and its supporters about peace, and let us continue to sanction and isolate the Putin regime until it ends this war.”