Today, the European Parliament recognized Russia to be a state sponsor of terrorism, in an attempt to pave the way for President Putin and his government to be held accountable for war crimes before an international tribunal.
Vladimir Putin’s regime is now considered by MEPs to be a state “sponsor of terrorism”, an accomplice to war crimes and must face the consequences. The MEPs finally voted by a majority in favor of this resolution, which was initially proposed by the European People’s Party, with 498 votes for, 58 against and 44 abstentions. The European Union is thus aligned with the United States and Canada.
In the text adopted on Wednesday, MEPs call on the EU and member states to put in place a “European legal framework” that would allow for “a battery of heavy restrictive measures” to be taken against countries labelled as supporters of terrorism and that would have the effect of significantly limiting the Union’s relations” with the countries in question.
FOLLOWING THE ATROCITIES CARRIED OUT BY VLADIMIR PUTIN’S REGIME AGAINST UKRAINIAN CIVILIANS, MEPS HAVE RECOGNISED RUSSIA AS A STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM. PRESS RELEASE: HTTPS://T.CO/YUBXBAU4GX PIC.TWITTER.COM/TF4QXSJLOB— European Parliament (@Europarl_EN) November 23, 2022
A decision that did not fail to react on the Ukrainian side. The chief of staff of the Ukrainian presidency, Andriy Yermark, expressed on Twitter “his gratitude” to the European Parliament, “for this crucial step that reinforces the international isolation of Russia and rightly confirms its status as a pariah.
At the same time, Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, led to massive power and water cuts, particularly in the capital Kiev, killing at least six people, causing three nuclear power plants to go offline.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia fired about 70 cruise missiles at the country, 51 of which were shot down, as well as five kamikaze drones. They targeted strategic infrastructure as winter temperatures set in for Ukraine. According to the head of the national police, Igor Klymenko, at least six people were killed and 36 injured in the bombings.
THE @EUROPARL_EN IS UNDER A SOPHISTICATED CYBERATTACK. A PRO-KREMLIN GROUP HAS CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY.
OUR IT EXPERTS ARE PUSHING BACK AGAINST IT & PROTECTING OUR SYSTEMS.
THIS, AFTER WE PROCLAIMED RUSSIA AS A STATE-SPONSOR OF TERRORISM.
MY RESPONSE: #SLAVAUKRAINI— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) November 23, 2022
A few hours after MEPs adopted this resolution the European Parliament’s website was the target of a cyberattack.
The denial of service attack (DDOS) disrupted access to the Strasbourg Parliament’s English-language website, said the spokesman, Jaume Duch, on Twitter.
