On 30 June, the Mission was visited by the European Parliament delegation to the EU–Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee, chaired by Pekka Toveri. The meeting was also attended by Member of the Ukrainian Parliament Vadym Halaichuk and Mariia Ionova, Permanent Representative Olha Kuryshko and her Deputy Denys Chystikov, as well as representatives of state authorities, including those who had been relocated: Vadym Boichenko, Head of the Mariupol City Military Administration, Oleksii Smyrnov, Deputy Head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, Andrii Orlov, Head of the Pryazovske Settlement Military Administratio and Dmytro Butrii, First Deputy Head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration.

The focus of the discussions was on the operational experience of state authorities and local self-government bodies operating under temporary occupation, key challenges in ensuring citizens’ rights, approaches to effective community management, support for the population and preparations for the de-occupation of territories, as well as the role of state authorities in implementing Ukraine’s European integration objectives amidst armed aggression and the temporary occupation of part of the state’s territory.

The meeting was also attended by Alona Lunova, Advocacy Director of the ZMINA Human Rights Centre, who presented an analytical report on tools for ensuring the rights and opportunities of internally displaced persons and residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in the context of Ukraine’s European integration path.

The Ukrainian side drew the attention of the European Parliament members to the importance of strengthening the sanctions policy, ensuring broad international awareness of the crimes committed by Russia in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the necessity of introducing compensation mechanisms for victims, as well as holding those responsible for these crimes accountable.

The European Parliament representatives expressed their solidarity with Ukraine and noted the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people in confronting Russian aggression.

We sincerely thank Pekka Toveri, Michael Gahler, Marta Temido, Lukas Sieper, Villy Sovndal, and André Franqueira Rodrigues for visiting the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, for their attention to the topic of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in the context of European integration processes, and for a meaningful dialogue.

We express our gratitude to the European Parliament for its ongoing support for Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression and on its path to full membership of the European Union.

The event was organized with the support of the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU) is a multi-donor programme funded by the governments of Canada, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.