AFET (Foreign Affairs) Committee MEPs debate the situation in Ukraine and are joined by Ivan Fedorov, the Mayor of Melitopol, Maria Mesentseva, Deputy Head of the Committee on EU Integration of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and Olena Khomenko, Chairperson of the Sub-committee on External Economic Relations and Efficient Use of International Aid of the Verkhovna Rada. In the meantime, DEVE (Development) Committee MEPs debate with Mykyta Poturayev, the Chair of the Humanitarian Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery.

EU - Ukraine (T)

Committee on Foreign Affairs

Brussels

exchange of views

troubles in Ukraine (T)

McALLISTER, David (EPP, DE)

Committee on Development

TOBÉ, Tomas (EPP, SE)

solidarity with Ukraine (T)

AFET-DEVE Committees: humanitarian situation in Ukraine and effectiveness of EU sanctions: extracts from the meetings

Title: AFET-DEVE Committees: humanitarian situation in Ukraine and effectiveness of EU sanctions: extracts from the meetings

AFET Committee, SOUNDBITE (English) - David McALLISTER, Chair of AFET Committee: The EU has adopted five packages of sanctions aimed at making the Putin regime pay a very high price for its reckless actions. They affected, inter alia, the banking, energy, transport and technology sectors as well as visa policy. However, they do provide for a vast number of exceptions, which casts some doubt on their efficiency. And indeed, all sanctions adopted so far did not deter the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. And the war is sadly going on.

David McALLISTER welcomes  Ivan FEDOROV, Maria MESENTSEVA and Olena KHOMENKO (1 shot)

AFET Committee, SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) - Ivan FEDOROV, Mayor of Melitopol: You know, Ukrainians in Ukraine today are not thinking about a comfort. They're thinking about their survival. And that has to be stopped as soon as we can through all possible means available to sanctions, pressure, weapons, help with weapons, with all possible and impossible means. We have to help Ukraine today. Ukraine, the Ukrainian nations are true heroes. Our soldiers are true heroes. We're united in such a way that we have never been united before.

AFET Committee, SOUNDBITE (English), Maria MESENTSEVA, Deputy Head of the Committee on EU Integration of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Of course, we can debate whether within this eight years of war, the sanctions worked well. We are seeing the increase of cost of a daily life of Russians, and it means that they do work. We see that they are in need of the daily products which are absent. We see that the ministers are calling on production of daily things that which which were never been in the state budget plan.

AFET Committee, SOUNDBITE (English), Maria MESENTSEVA, Deputy Head of the Committee on EU Integration of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Disconnecting all the banks from Swift is definitely our goal. Blocking all the banks from access to European financial system is our mutual goal. Of course, colleagues, let's not forget about small things like blocking roaming, like technical things by block in Russia today and other channels. But they are not just over. There's another eight which are remaining and they are spreading along the propaganda. So we do have issues in telecom as well.

AFET Committee, SOUNDBITE (English) Olena KHOMENKO, Chairperson of the Sub-committee on External Economic Relations and Efficient Use of International Aid of the Verkhovna Rada: We would like to underline that both sanctions imposed with the connexion of military aggression against Ukraine should also be imposed on Belarus.

AFET Committee, SOUNDBITE (English) Olena KHOMENKO, Chairperson of the Sub-committee on External Economic Relations and Efficient Use of International Aid of the Verkhovna Rada: Also with regard to cyber sanctions, creating new sanctions against Russia for cyber crimes committed against Ukraine in view to prevent, deter and respond, respond to malicious cyber activities used by Russia state bodies and Russian led illegal hacking teams to undermine functioning of Ukraine's democratic institutions, financial and banking sectors, critical infrastructure, free and independent media.

AFET Committee, SOUNDBITE (English) Olena KHOMENKO, Chairperson of the Sub-committee on External Economic Relations and Efficient Use of International Aid of the Verkhovna Rada: Sanctioning all officials and top state managers and their families who hold federal and regional positions and thus support barbaric regime and its crimes. It is also important to sanction so-called experts, influencers, bloggers, artists and musicians because they also contribute a lot into these criminal actions against Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (English), Tomas TOBE (EPP, SE) - Chair of DEVE Committee: Since the beginning of the war, there have been deliberate efforts by Russia to prevent safe unimpeded access for humanitarian organisations and to block safe passage for civilian evacuations of cities under siege in what constitutes clear violations of international humanitarian law.

DEVE Committee - SOUNDBITE (English), Mykyta POTURAYEV, Chair of the Humanitarian Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: Half a million of Ukrainian citizens were deported from from Ukraine to the Russian federation without any agreement from their side. And unfortunately, there is no opportunity for now even contact with these people.

DEVE Committee - SOUNDBITE (English), Mykyta POTURAYEV, Chair of the Humanitarian Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: We are not responsible for the risks of global hunger. The only country which is responsible is Russian Federation.