In his address to the nation on Thursday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed two important diplomatic decisions received by Ukraine – a European Parliament resolution favorable to Kyiv’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and a bill in the US Congress that allows Ukraine to transfer and use Russian assets seized in the US, reports New .ro.

“The European Parliament adopted a decisive resolution in support of the European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations of our nation. There is a specific appeal to EU leaders to define a clear path for our country to EU membership. As for the issue of the Alliance, the European Parliament is aware of the very content of our Ukrainian contribution to Euro-Atlantic security, which implies that Ukraine’s path to NATO and the political invitation to join should develop in the context of preparation. to the Alliance summit in Vilnius.

The time for integration and security certainty has clearly come, and I thank all members of the European Parliament and President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, as well as the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk for constant and effective work with the parliaments of our partner countries,” Volodymyr Zelenskyi said.

In the resolution adopted on Thursday, the European deputies demanded that NATO fulfill its obligations to Ukraine and invite this country to join the alliance. They are also asking EU leaders to support the opening of accession negotiations this year. The decision was adopted by 425 votes “for”, 38 “against” and 42 “abstentions”. MEPs emphasized that they expect “the accession process to begin after the end of the war and to be completed as soon as possible.”

Until full membership is achieved, the EU and its member states, along with NATO allies and partners, should work closely with Ukraine to develop a framework for security guarantees, MEPs say. The parliament emphasizes that Ukraine’s integration into both NATO and the EU will increase regional and global security and strengthen ties between Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic community.

MEPs also “condemned in the strongest possible way Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovskaya dam” on June 6, which caused a large-scale flood and caused an ecological disaster and ecocide in Ukraine. The destruction of the Kakhovskaya dam is a war crime, and all those responsible for war crimes, including the destruction of the dam, will be prosecuted under international law, the EP resolution says.

Confiscated Russian assets will be transferred to Ukraine

“The second important international step taken today is the bill registered in the USA on the confiscation and transfer to our country of the assets of the Russian state, a terrorist state, as reparations. I thank the US senators for their strong bipartisan support for this issue of justice for Ukraine and all victims of Russian terror. In such dictatorships as the Russian one, money is the greatest value. And even more so for those who serve the regime in power or who are actually the owners of state structures,” Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in his address to his compatriots on Thursday evening.

“When the terrorist state and all the people in Russia, whose cooperation with the Kremlin created the conditions for Russian aggression or who are a public cover for corrupt Russian officials, lose their money, a very important goal will be achieved – they will feel what it means to lose. They do not respect life and do not regret when human lives are lost.

The Russian ruling class does not value people and is ready to waste hundreds of thousands of human lives. But they feel sorry for the money, which, by the way, they appropriated. They value their property. They should lose them completely and for the benefit of those who suffered as a result of their aggression, as a result of this terrorist war, for the benefit of our state and people,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Members of the US Congress from the Republican and Democratic parties introduced a bill on Thursday that would simplify the financing of Ukraine’s fight against Russian invaders at the expense of Russian assets seized and frozen in the United States.

The US Congress has approved more than $100 billion in military, humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. While leaders of both parties insist that US support for the government in Kyiv remains strong, some members of Congress question how long that level of aid can continue amid calls to cut government spending.

The bill’s authors said their intention was to have Moscow pay for the damage caused by the invasion, not American taxpayers. Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and one of the bill’s authors, said more than $300 billion of Russian sovereign assets remain frozen around the world.

“Given Russia’s brutality and ongoing war crimes against the Ukrainian people, it is only right that Russian government funds in the United States be seized and repurposed to help Ukraine rebuild its country,” said Jim Risch.

Among other things, the Restoration of Prosperity and Economic Opportunity Act (REPO), introduced in the Senate and the House of Representatives, would give the President of the United States the authority to seize frozen Russian assets in the United States and transfer them to aid Ukraine.

It also prohibits the transfer of funds to sanctioned Russian entities until Russia withdraws from Ukraine and agrees to provide compensation for war damages. (News.ro)