Borrell: Putin must pay for war crimes
Russian President Vladimir Putin must pay for the war crimes for which he is responsible, including the forced abduction of Ukrainian children.
This is stated in the article of the EU High Representative, Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell for the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Ukrinform.
"Russia must be held accountable. That is why the International Criminal Court's indictment of President Vladimir Putin is so important: Putin must pay for the war crimes for which he is responsible. Among them is the forced abduction of many children from Ukraine," Borrell wrote.
He emphasized that "history and justice are on Ukraine's side in this war." "But we must accelerate the course of history. Our military support and our decision to buy ammunition together serve the cause of a just peace in Ukraine. This is the right and necessary decision," the EU High Representative said.
Borrell pointed out that in order to defend itself and repel the Russian aggressor, Ukraine needs not only political and financial support, but, above all, weapons and ammunition. "The defense of Ukrainian sovereignty is of an existential nature - both for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe. We cannot achieve this without giving Ukraine the means to achieve it," he emphasized.
Against this backdrop, the EU High Representative recalled that last week European leaders agreed to a three-point proposal on the procurement and production of ammunition and its transfer to Ukraine, as well as replenishment of their own stockpiles.
"Over the past 20 years, Europeans have reduced investments in the defense industry. Due to the radically changed security environment, we need to increase them again. In particular, we want to supply Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells within a year. For this purpose, we are allocating a total of €2 billion under the European Peace Fund. With a reimbursement rate of 50 to 60%, we can mobilize about 4 billion euros with this new package," Borrell said.
According to him, this shows that the EU "is able to act quickly when necessary" and that it demonstrates the determination of European countries to provide Ukraine with the necessary means for its legitimate self-defense.
"This decision may raise the question of how providing more weapons can end this terrible war. The answer is that as long as Russia is attacking and bombing Ukraine, Ukraine needs both weapons and ammunition to defend itself and end the war," the EU High Representative said.
At the same time, he emphasized that the European Union, like Ukraine, of course, wants peace.
"But we do not want just any peace. We want a just and lasting peace based on the UN Charter. A peace in which Russia withdraws its troops from all areas of Ukraine that it is currently occupying. That is why we also support President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula. In other words, it is important how the war ends, not just that it ends, with Russia's territorial and other gains from this aggressive war," Borrell added.
