Putin must cease war immediately, pull Russian troops from Ukraine: EU

As the brutal Russia-Ukraine war continues, with Russian troops relentlessly bombarding major Ukrainian cities, the representative of the European Union at the OSCE Permanent Council Meeting on June 24, asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin must cease the war quickly to prevent additional loss of life and damage to life and property in Ukraine, Ukrinform reported. The EU has also issued a firm warning to Putin, urging him to pull back his forces to stop any breaches of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. 

According to a statement from the EU, “At four o’clock on 24 February, the largest war of aggression in Europe since the Second World War started, bringing untold suffering to the people of Ukraine...The world knows who the aggressor is. With its premeditated, unprovoked and unjustified attack, Russia chose to be the aggressor, which we strongly condemn. The world continues to stand in full solidarity with Ukraine and its people.” 

EU will continue to offer substantial support to Ukraine

Besides this, the EU also emphasised the fact that in order to maintain Ukraine's overall economic, military, social, as well as financial strength, the EU would have to continue offering substantial support, including humanitarian aid. EU further noted that another essential component of this equation is its financial penalties, which are intended to reduce the aggressor's military power. “Wars of aggression did not pay off in the past and it is even more imperative that they do not pay off in today’s world,” it added.  

In addition to this, the statement highlighted that last week, Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, informed the Human Rights Council that the scale of the destruction and death in Mariupol proposed serious transgressions of international humanitarian law and that "the horrors inflicted on the civilian population would leave their indelible mark, including on generations to come.” 

“Russia’s aggression is a tragedy for Ukraine. At the same time, it constitutes an acute challenge for the international community. Russian officials and representatives, including in this Organisation, question the term 'international rules-based order'," the statement added.  

Further, the EU statement noted that the imperialist essence of Russia's campaign of aggression against Ukraine was revealed by President Vladimir Putin's recent remark about the "return and strengthening of lands," which also vividly illustrated his aggressive and neo-imperialist endeavour to rewrite history and simply conquer territory. 

The Kremlin used scorched earth methods in Ukraine after strategically failing to carry out a full-scale invasion of its neighbour, razing entire towns to the dust with indiscriminate bombing and shellings, also on civilian targets, the statement said. “There are widespread reports about forcible deportation of Ukrainian citizens, including children to Russia, also through so-called filtration camps,” it mentioned.  

Meanwhile, earlier in March, Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, called on President Putin to quickly withdraw his country's military from Ukraine and halt all actions against it. The EU Council President demanded an immediate end to aggression in the nation where thousands of innocent civilians have already died as a result of savage bombardment and devastation. 

(Image: @UrsulavonderLeyen/Instagram/AP)