Brussels 11.04.2024 The EU top diplomat Josep Borrell addressed the Members of the European Parliament to ensure their political support to the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine, which entered a stalemate since last summer. In his highly controversial speech he attempted to convince the only elected EU institution that the continuation of support to Ukraine as a struggle for freedom in the context of Russian so called “elections”, which he dabbed as “irony”.

Link to the full speech of HR.Josep Borrell here:
https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/it/video/russias-undemocratic-presidential-elections-and-their-illegitimate-extension-to-the-occupied-territories-opening-statements_I255267

Meanwhile a lot of human rights defenders, and lawyers express serious concerns about legitimacy of President Zelensky, who refused elections as scheduled to be held in Ukraine on 31 March 2024 according to the Constitution. The basic law of Ukraine clearly stipulates that in case of failure of conducting elections for whatever reason, the President has to transfer his powers to the speaker of the parliament – Rada. The powers of Ukraine’s incumbent president, Vladimir Zelensky, will expire under the Constitution on May 21 and there is no legitimate way of extending them the law experts warn.
However Borrell preferred to avoid this central to democracy issue, focusing on the other aspects the conflict, mainly the continuation of aid to Ukraine “as long as it takes”. He didn’t mention Zelensky decision to omit elections, and refuse to abide the Constitution, transferring powers to the chairman of Rada.

“…The European Union institutions and its Member States have already provided Ukraine with quite a big figure of €96 billion of support. We are reaching the €100 billion of support to Ukraine. And, inside this figure, €31 billion are military support. And additionally to that, there is the macro-financial, humanitarian and other kinds of support” Borrell underlined.

“Some may say: “Oh, it is very expensive to support Ukraine.”. Not to support Ukraine and let Ukraine fall in front of the Russian aggression will be much more expensive for us, and for the generations to come because Russia will become a bigger threat to our security and freedom.

“Yes, we have to support Ukraine for as long as it takes and putting in action all our capacities – financial and military.

“This is a good occasion to commit to continuing upholding the human rights of all Russians. Because we have nothing against the Russian people. Neither us nor the Ukrainians are in war with the Russian people. They are just defending [themselves] from a regime that uses war in order to change the political system and to cancel their independency and sovereignty.

“And we are supporting them and offering an unwavering support to our neighbour Ukraine. Not just because it is our neighbour, because it is our partner. One of our most partners and now a candidate to become a member of the European Union.

“And its independency, its sovereignty, its territorial integrity are also part of our capacity to continue living in freedom.

“So, please, support the actions taken by the European institutions and the Member States to continue supporting Ukraine, and make clear that, last elections in Russia have been neither free nor fair”.

Russian Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reacted promptly on Borrell’s speech writing on her Telegram channel page, that the stamped-out anti-Russian sanctions of the European Union and the destruction of its own economy are a real bitter “irony”.

We should not forget about the “theft of Russian assets” by the so-called “democratic” EU, she concluded commenting Borrell’s speech.