European Parliament condemns Russia's military build-up around Ukraine

17.12.2021 09:05

Ukrinform

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the security situation along Ukraine's borders and in the temporarily occupied territories, which condemns Russia's military build-up around Ukraine and calls on Russia to withdraw its troops and adhere to its own international obligations.

According to Ukrinform, the document has been published on the website of the European Parliament. Some 548 MEPs voted in favor of the resolution, 69 voted against it, and 54 - abstained.

"The Russian Federation has been steadily increasing its military presence along the borders of Ukraine, amassing a current total of around 100,000 troops. […] The recent build-up is considered to be more substantial than the previous military build-up of spring this year," the document reads.

According to MEPs, it has been over six years since the adoption of the Minsk Agreements and over seven years since the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation and the start of the war in Ukraine waged by Russia. More than 14,000 people have lost their lives and close to two million people have become internally displaced persons (IDPs) during the ongoing conflict.

The preamble to the document mentions Russia's illegal decisions relating to the occupied territories, including Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree on simplified trade rules to allow access measures to increase access of goods to and from the temporarily non-government-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk areas of Ukraine.

The resolution also refers to the Russian president's demand for legally binding guarantees from NATO that it will not conduct any further eastern enlargements and mentions a virtual meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents, during which President Joe Biden warned Russia about sanctions and severe consequences for Russia in the event of its further aggression against Ukraine.

The resolution expresses support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, and reiterates strong support for the EU's policy of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol.

President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to the adoption of the resolution, thanking the European Union for its support of Ukraine.

"Grateful for the European Union's strong support for Ukraine. Yesterday - at the Eastern Partnership summit, today – the European Parliament resolution on the situation on Ukraine's border! Military action against Ukraine will have a high economic and political cost for Russia. The threat to Ukraine's security is a threat to peace and stability in Europe," Zelensky tweeted.