In a press release made on October 18, the Commission stated that based on its investigations of the events in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions in late February and March 2022, it had reasonable grounds to conclude that an array of war crimes, violations of human rights and international humanitarian law had been committed in Ukraine. Given the gravity of the identified violations, there is an undeniable need for accountability, the Commission said on the day of submitting a detailed written report to the UN General Assembly.
On October 9, russians attacked civilian buildings and critical infrastructure of the town, wounding 8 civilians and leaving residents with no electricity and water supply.
The figure was reported by Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko.
On October 22, russian military continued to launch missile strikes and shell Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving 1,5 mln people with no electricity.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, the russian forces might undertake the attack to cover their withdrawal and to prevent Ukrainian forces from pursuing them deeper into Kherson region. Blowing the dam could flood 80 Ukrainian cities and displace hundreds of thousands of people while damaging Ukraine’s already-tenuous electricity supply.
At the same time, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine stated that the russian occupiers had already carried out the main works on mining the Kakhovka HPP back in April.
On February 25, the little girl and her grandfather, both from Novyi Burluk, Kharkiv region, drove to a local shop to meet the girl’s grandmother. At that time, a russian sniper fired at their car, shooting right through the child’s body. The girl did not make it to the hospital, and her grandparents came under russian fire once again while attempting to transport her to the nearest healthcare facility.
As of October 24, 430 Ukrainian children were killed by russians. 820 more kids sustained injuries. These figures, drawn by the Office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, do not take into account the number of child victims from places of active hostilities, which would be much higher but are currently impossible to count.
On October 18, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution recognizing the sovereignty of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which is currently temporarily occupied by the russian federation. The Ukrainian parliament also condemned the genocide of the Chechen people. The text of the statement will be sent to the UN, as well as the parliaments and governments of the world, the EU, and the Council of Europe.
On October 18, MPs of Riigikogu adopted with 88 votes a Statement condemning the annexation of the territories of Ukraine and declaring russia a terrorist regime.
In the Statement, the Riigikogu strongly condemns the military actions of the russian federation against Ukraine and the illegal annexation of the territories “conquered” during the aggression, as well as supports the investigations initiated by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Responding to an appeal by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Estonia’s parliament also “declares russia a terrorist regime” and “calls on the international community to adopt similar declarations.”
Moreover, according to the Statement, the Riigikogu supports the request to strip russia of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Newly-elected President of the Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana, who had earlier called putin’s russia a “model” society, said on the Italian channel Rai that Europe should be careful with its sanctions policy because they might “become a boomerang.” According to Mr. Fontana, Europeans, who are “less used to suffering,” are “not prepared for” russia’s “counter-sanctions,” by which the politician means hindering grain deliveries and making people from Middle-Eastern and African regions leave for Europe.
On October 19, EP President Roberta Metsola announced in the Strasbourg plenary chamber that MEPs had awarded the brave people of Ukraine, represented by their president, elected leaders, and civil society, the 2022 Sakharov Prize. The nomination highlighted the efforts of the Ukrainian President together with the role of individuals, representatives of civil society initiatives, and state and public institutions.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded each year by the European Parliament. It was established in 1988 to honor individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is named in honor of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, and the prize money is 50 000 euros.
The relevant statement made by member of the Dutch House of Representatives Sjoerd Wiemer Sjoerdsma on Twitter reads, “Majority of the Dutch parliament in favor of establishing a special tribunal to judge russia's act of aggression against Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reacted to the statement, twitting, “Grateful to all members of the Dutch House of Representatives, who supported the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. putin and his entourage must face trial for committing this crime.”
Amid concerns that a new Congress could take a more skeptical view of aid to Ukraine, raised by recent remarks by House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy on GOP’s readiness to pull back on US aid, lawmakers from both parties are looking to lock military assistance to Ukraine before the November midterm elections’ winners are sworn. According to NBC, who talked to US lawmakers and congressional staffers, the new aid package which most likely would be part of an omnibus spending bill and could be within the range of roughly $50 billion. The Biden administration, however, has not yet made a formal request for new funding.
In an interview with Ukrinform, President of the German parliament Bärbel Bas stated that the Petitions Committee of the Bundestag is considering a petition about the Holodomor, which was signed by more than 56,000 people. The parliament is currently waiting for the results of the consideration.
Ms. Bas recalled that a joint German-Ukrainian commission of historians had considered the topic since 2015. She also noted that Germany supported a declaration for the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor at the 73rd UN General Assembly so that the memory of the victims of the Holodomor would be properly honored.
Speaking about the possibility of providing a political and legal assessment of today's atrocities by russia, the Speaker noted that “it is important today that russian war crimes in Ukraine are documented, then independently investigated, and the guilty brought to justice.”
Resolutions:
Appeals:
Draft laws In the first reading:
Laws in the second reading:
Danylo Hetmantsev, Servant of the People faction, and the Chairman of VRU Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, mentioned that the law, which established the bureau in 2021, did not produce any results for its transparent and efficient activity, as 80% of the bureau`s staff remain former tax officers. Therefore, it is necessary to reload the bureau. Yaroslav Zheleznyak, Holos faction, stressed that the VRU Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy would amend the law on the bureau, which would allow dismissing its leadership in the nearest future.
For 31 weeks, RANG has been assisting Ukraine’s Parliament daily in its external communication with information production for social media, both in English and Ukraine, within the Communication Task Force of the VRU Secretariat. In total RANG produced 2377 visual materials and disseminated materials to inform foreign audiences on VRU’s activity amid the war via UkraineWorld media with 48 million monthly viewers, which is supported by USAID.
The coverage of the VRU’s social media accounts increased by 600 times in Telegram from 7 000 to 4 200 000 per day, the number of subscribers on Facebook increased by 2.5 times, from 91 000 to 224 080, and the English-language Twitter coverage increased from 65 000 to 1 800 000 per day.
He claims that such a solution can solve the issue of adopting numerous acts with many amendments in the light of the European Integration path and legislation approximation. Besides, this office can prepare draft laws to fulfill Ukraine's European integration obligations.
which gathered 80 high school students on October 19. Participants had a chance to learn how the Lithuanian government system works and interesting facts about this country, its people, and its traditions.
during the meetings with the former Director-General of Information Services and Librarian of the UK House of Commons John Pullinger and Andrew Walker, former head of the House of Commons Fees Office on October 19.
On October 20-21, Program cooperated with the EU-funded project Association 4U and conducted training on “Introduction to the EU law upon the request of the VRU. Harmonization of the domestic legislation to the EU law: tools and principles“, which gathered 37 representatives of the staff of the newly established sub-committees on EU integration and the Research Service.
The training helped participants learn the features of public policy, policy cycle, problem identification, stakeholders, policy alternatives, policy impact, evaluation and change, and policy analysis documents.