Some of the 19 MEPs who voted against the creation of a tribunal to investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine have long-standing ties to Moscow and are known for speaking out in favor of it.

It can be explained that one of the most popular Telegram channels in Russia called them all “old friends of the Kremlin”, saying that some of them are “favorites of Russian propaganda who participated in events organized in Moscow at the expense of Russia”. state”.

According to independent researcher Chris Owen, the administrators of the Russian Telegram channel singled out 5 MEPs who voted against the resolution of the European legislative body.

Two of them are members of the far-right party AfD (Alternative for Germany), Gunner Beck and Maximilian Kra.

“The latter believes that sanctions against Russia will lead to the collapse of Europe, and shortly before the war, he claimed that pressure should be put on Kyiv to fulfill the Minsk agreements,” says Krakh in the Russian Telegram channel.

MEPs favored by Russian propaganda

Regarding another MEP from the AfD, it is noted that “he is a long-time favorite of Russian propaganda. In August, he stated that the Russian Federation does not support terrorism in the EU. In 2021, he traveled to Moscow as an observer of the State Duma elections at the personal invitation of Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin and did not find any violations.”

“Another national propaganda star who supported Russia is Hervé Juvin, the spokesman for the National Front (not Marine Le Pen’s party). In June, he called NATO the main threat to peace and accused Zelensky of meddling in French elections. Before the war, he went to Crimea and called on Kyiv to recognize the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics,” said the French MEP.

Francesco Donato, a member of Italy’s Northern League, who previously questioned Russia’s responsibility for the Buchanan tragedy and accused the EU of starting the war in Ukraine, also voted against the resolution.

On May 8 last year, Myroslav Radachovsky from the Slovak PATRIOT party went to Moscow for a round table on the topic “Russia and Europe – how to preserve historical ties and memory?”.

Tatyana Zhdanoka from the Russian Union of Latvia also expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and demanded that Europe stop killing children in Donbas.

How Maria Grapini explained the vote against the creation of a tribunal to try Russia’s war crimes

Romanian MEP Maria Grapini was the only member of the European Social Democrat family to vote against the resolution, but she later told HotNews.ro that it was a mistake, as it was actually an error in the voting system.

“The key gets stuck in the remote control not for the first time. My vote was for the resolution. I reported the situation from the room and sent my assistant to write to the technical staff to write and explain the situation. Voting in the system has been changed, but the online procedure takes longer,” she said.

From the other major European left political family in the EP, the Confederal Group of the United European Left/Scandinavian Green Left, 6 MEPs voted against the resolution. Most of those who voted against are MEPs who are not related to the European family.

With 472 votes in favor, only 19 against and 33 abstentions, MEPs adopted a resolution on Thursday that the military, political leaders and those who actually committed war crimes in Ukraine should be tried and punished by an international court.

Follow the latest events of the 331st day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.