Danish MEP Anders Vistisen stated from the rostrum of the European Parliament in Strasbourg that all debates about how to hold Russia accountable for its war crimes are pointless if Ukraine loses the war, a reporter for FACT reports.
"There is no doubt that Russia is responsible for atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the occupation of Ukraine. The question, however, is how to hold Russia accountable for all this. If we look back, we will see that we could not have prosecuted for war crimes if the other side (the aggressor) had maintained victory," he said.
"It would be good if all war criminals around the world were held accountable for their actions. But in order for real changes to occur in this regard for Ukrainians, we need to think about how to end this conflict. At the moment, there is no realistic prospect of Ukraine invading Moscow, which makes today's debates meaningless. So let's help Ukraine preserve what it has now, instead of making high-flown speeches that make no sense at all," said Anders Vistisen.
The European Parliament is debating how the union can help Ukraine in its fight for justice. Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 The Russian military and authorities are accused of committing numerous war crimes in the occupied Ukrainian territories. There have been deliberate attacks on civilian targets, such as hospitals, medical facilities and Ukraine's energy infrastructure, as well as indiscriminate strikes on densely populated areas. Other crimes include the abduction, torture and murder of civilians, the forcible deportation of children, and the murder and torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The big problem is that Russian war criminals, including Vladimir Putin, cannot be held accountable if they win the war. There is an arrest warrant for Putin, but instead of putting pressure on him to be detained, the new administration in Washington is engaging in dialogue with him and even legitimizing his right to attack Ukraine. The European Union, for its part, has no tools to hold Putin and other war criminals accountable. Sanctions imposed on Moscow have not been effective enough to stop military aggression, although they have weakened the Russian economy.
The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaia Kalas, said in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg that the EU would continue to stand by Ukraine in holding it accountable for Russian war crimes. When the war is over, it will not only require efforts to rebuild the affected settlements, but also to ensure justice and accountability for war crimes committed by Russia, she said.