The European Union must do everything it can to fight against the ‘brutal, aggressive, and unprovoked’ invasion of Russia against Ukraine, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola said.

Metsola was speaking exclusively with The Malta Independent in Kiev, to where she travelled for a few hours on Friday.

Metsola announced her trip to the Ukrainian capital on her Twitter account late Thursday. She is the first president of an EU institution to travel to the Ukrainian capital since the Russian-Ukrainian war began on 24 February.

Russian troops have been attacking and moving in on several cities around Ukraine since then.

Asked about her main purpose for her trip to Ukraine, as well as her reactions to the situation in Ukraine, Metsola said that the European Union cannot continue to let the war continue, and let Ukrainian citizens suffer alone.

“In the name of the European Parliament, we decided that I should come and address the Ukrainian parliament with a message of solidarity, message of help and one of peace,” Metsola said.

She added that countries in Europe share the same principles and values, and commended Ukrainians for fighting against the brutal invasion with courage and resilience.

 

Metsola was asked about the EU sanctions which it has imposed on Russia, casting doubt on their effectiveness, and if more should be done so that the conflict can end.

“These are part of the discussions which the EU constantly has here, as well as In Brussels with all the leaders of the EU. One might question however, if the package of sanctions is being enforced by all,” she said. Metsola said that there are countries that are still protecting Russian oligarchs who have financed Russian President Vladimir Putin for years.

“We need to make it clear to these countries that they cannot continue protecting these people,” she said.

Metsola said that there are ongoing discussions on a fifth package of sanctions which are wider and target more people.

“We cannot have an aggressor that suddenly decides it can invade another country in Europe,” she said.

The United States of America’s Treasury Department has sanctioned a Russian individual who has a Maltese passport and consequently, the Maltese government is set to revoke their citizenship.

Asked about this, Metsola said that this decision is welcomed as it is a political and a judicial decision. She said that Malta, as part of the European Union, must look into who has these passports, who is selling them, who is buying them, and overall, the reason why.