“The position of the EU is well known by now. There is only one aggressor in this war. It is Russia. Not NATO, not Europe, not Ukraine. Russia must be held accountable for its actions,” states Ambassador Lotte Knudsen, Head of the EU Delegation to the UN in Geneva.

“Russian forces have shelled residential housing, schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure. The Kremlin’s propaganda machine has been pushed into overdrive in its effort to justify the unjustifiable. More than one million people have already fled the violence with more to come.

Today’s vote at the Council echoed the message that we saw two days ago at the UN General Assembly: Russia, stop your aggression. Seek diplomacy instead of war. You will be held accountable for your actions.

We commend the Ukrainian delegation for the transparent and professional manner in which they have led the consultations on this draft resolution. They are all working under very difficult circumstances. We can only imagine the pressure they must be experiencing. Nevertheless, they made every effort to accommodate concerns and requests from partners from all over the world, in order to present a balanced text.

We need to continue working for the benefit of international peace and security, protecting all states, large and small, standing by Ukraine and supporting its democratic institutions and representatives.”