02:53Belgium: 'This is a war crime' - EC Pres Von der Leyen on deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, referred to the Ukrainian children reportedly deported to Russia during a press conference held in Brussels on Thursday.
"It is a horrible reminder of the darkest times of our history, what is happening there, to deport children. This is a war crime", Von der Leyen said.
The President of the European Commission also addressed the 11th sanctions package against Russia, saying it will be aimed at combating the circumvention of the sanctions already in place.
"We have nominated a sanction envoy who is travelling to countries where we observe sanction circumventions, yet started this work," she said.
Moscow launched the military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and guarantee that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and US imposed sanctions on Moscow.
02:53Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, referred to the Ukrainian children reportedly deported to Russia during a press conference held in Brussels on Thursday.
"It is a horrible reminder of the darkest times of our history, what is happening there, to deport children. This is a war crime", Von der Leyen said.
The President of the European Commission also addressed the 11th sanctions package against Russia, saying it will be aimed at combating the circumvention of the sanctions already in place.
"We have nominated a sanction envoy who is travelling to countries where we observe sanction circumventions, yet started this work," she said.
Moscow launched the military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and guarantee that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and US imposed sanctions on Moscow.