The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU took part
in the meeting of the EU Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of the
Visegrad Group countries (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech
Republic). She informed the participants about the greatest challenges,
dangers and needs of Ukraine in the war waged by Russia.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said that Russia's attacks in Ukraine are
intensifying: “Unfortunately, fierce battles are being fought for our
territory and our people in the northeast, southeast and east of the
country. Very few places are safe throughout the country. The civilian
population of Ukraine is being killed, Ukrainian citizens are being
forcibly deported from the occupied territories, men are being forcibly
enlisted to the armed forces of the Russian Federation. It cannot go
unnoticed by the world community”. The Chair of the Committee expressed
hope that the member states of the Visegrad Four — Poland, the Czech
Republic, Hungary and Slovakia — would actively contribute to documenting
Russia's crimes in Ukraine and will help to ensure that those responsible
are brought to justice: «Putin is not killing us personally. This is
Russia's collective responsibility for this war».
The Chair of the Committee called on the participants of the meeting to
work with their parliaments to recognize the Russian war in Ukraine as
genocide of the Ukrainian people: “Two weeks ago the Verkhovna Rada called
the war in Ukraine as genocide of Ukrainians. We are grateful to Estonia
and Latvia, which have already approved the same decisions, and I ask you
to start discussions on this issue in your parliaments”.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that the current war is not only against
Ukraine, but also against the whole free world: “We Ukrainians are at the
forefront of Western civilization and therefore we are sorry to realize
that some countries have decided not to support us. It hurts us that
Hungary has decided not to help us fight for survival. I very much hope
that additional discussions will be held and this position will change”.
The Chair of the Committee is convinced that the greatest humanitarian aid
for Ukraine today is the weapons: “I want to thank all those states that
transfer weapons to us. For Ukraine, this is the only way to preserve its
existence — to expel the enemy from our land”. She also added that she was
grateful for the sanctions that the West had already imposed on Russia,
but there were still too many gaps in the sanctions against the Russian
Federation. The Chair of the Committee called to take measures to close
these loopholes in sanctions against Russia.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that she does not see an opportunity for
Ukraine to be neutral alongside a neighbour like the Russian Federation:
“If we decide on neutrality today, it will mean slavery for us tomorrow.
We will be transformed into a southern district of Russia and we will not
have a future. We were a non-aligned country in 2014, when Russia annexed
Crimea and attacked Ukraine. And it has not given us any protection”.
The Chair of the Committee also called for intensified efforts to provide
humanitarian assistance to internally displaced citizens of Ukraine: “We
call on countries across Europe to continue to collect humanitarian aid.
Because, unfortunately, more and more territories need this help in
Ukraine”. She also asked the representatives of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia
and the Czech Republic to become supporters in the decision to grant
Ukraine a candidate status for the EU membership: “I understand how much
needs to be done to make such a decision possible. I ask each of you to
advocate for this decision at all levels. We understand that the
transformation the country needs to go through in order to join the
European Union is huge, but for us, it is not just a question of
well-being, rules and procedures. It is a question of believing that our
struggle today has a ray of hope that we will become a full member of the
European Union”.