EU condemns Russia’s illegal conscription campaign in occupied territories of Ukraine

That’s according to an EU statement, proclaimed during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, Ukrinform reports.

“On 1st October, Russia launched yet another illegal conscription campaign in the temporarily and illegally occupied territories of Ukraine. Russia is forcefully conscripting Ukrainian citizens into the Russian Armed Forces, thereby involving them in its war of aggression against their homeland. We condemn this reprehensible act and urge Russia to stop this blatant violation of international law,” the statement said.

It has been recalled that the EU does not and will not recognize the attempted illegal annexation by Russia of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions of Ukraine, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

"All these territories are and will always be Ukraine," the European Union said.

The statement also emphasized that the EU obligation to support Ukraine for as long as it takes "remains as rock solid as ever before."

"And our commitment has consistently been upheld by our deeds. The EU and its Member States are the first financial supporter of Ukraine, with their overall commitments reaching more than 82 billion euro. We will continue providing Ukraine with steadfast, long-term political, diplomatic, humanitarian, financial, economic, legal and military support against Russia’s illegal war of aggression," the statement reads.

It was also stated that the EU remains unwavering in its support for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

“No one desires peace more than the Ukrainians, and they are paying for their rightful self-defence with their lives. It is for Ukraine to determine the conditions allowing for negotiations in good faith. Any solution to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has to be based on Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity as protected by the UN Charter. President Zelenskyy's Peace Formula offers such a solution as it is fully premised on the UN Charter,” the EU said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Russian government had announced that the autumn draft campaign would run in most of the Russian territory, as well as in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.