Two European Commissioners have raised serious charges against Russian President, Vladimir Putin, ahead of the European Day of Remembrance for victims of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.
“Putin returned war, persecution, and illegal occupation to Europe with the invasion of Ukraine,” EU Commission Vice President Věra Jourová and EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said on Tuesday.
The European Union has, since August 23, 2009, observed the Europe-Wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes or “Black Ribbon Day” annually.
The date is also the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a military non-aggression agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which paved the way for the German invasion of Poland in September 1939.
In recent years, the EU has underlined the importance of the date for highlighting the Soviet Union’s crimes and abuses in Europe, pushing back against Russian-led revisionism.
According to Radio Free Europe, Jourová and Reynders stressed in their statement that the EU would continue to push back against Russia’s efforts to spread conspiracies and “provide facts to dismantle such distortions.”
Reaffirming the bloc’s support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion, Jourová and Reynders said the sustained peace in Europe after World War II offers hope for the future amid the return of war.
