European Parliament calls on EU to 'give Ukraine whatever it needs to defeat Russia'

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Feb. 29 calling on EU member states to support Ukraine with "whatever is needed for Kyiv to win its war against Russia," including long-range weapons.

The move comes as an ammunition deficit caused by delays in defense aid from the U.S. and EU has shown its impact on the battlefield, with Ukraine losing more territory.

Ukraine's calls on Berlin to provide much-needed long-range Taurus missiles were recently rejected again, reportedly due to fears the move will draw Germany into the war.

The resolution was approved by 451 votes in favor and 46 against, with 49 abstentions, according to the parliament's press service.

Members of the European Parliament (MEP) said that the main goal is for Ukraine to win the war, adding that "serious consequences" await if that does not happen as other authoritarian regimes would "assess their own leeway for exerting aggressive foreign policies."

To ensure Kyiv’s victory, the EU should have "no self-imposed restriction on military assistance to Ukraine," MEPs said, urging European countries to provide Ukraine with air-defense systems, long-range missiles such as Taurus and Storm Shadow/SCALP, various types of artillery and ammunition (155 mm in particular) and drones and weapons.

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"All EU and NATO allies should support Ukraine militarily with no less than 0.25% of their GDP annually, say MEPs, who also urge EU countries to immediately enter into dialogue with defense companies in order to ensure increased production and deliveries of ammunition and missiles to Ukraine, which should be prioritized over orders from other third countries," reads the press release.

The European Parliament also called on the U.S. Congress to immediately approve $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, which remains stalled for months.

The resolution underlined the urgency to develop a legal framework to confiscate state-owned Russian assets frozen in the EU and transfer them to Ukraine.

"Russia must be obliged to pay reparations imposed on it to ensure that it contributes substantially to rebuilding Ukraine."

The European Parliament also called on member states to extend their sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including "banning Russian uranium and metallurgical imports to the EU, terminating nuclear cooperation with Russia, and imposing a full embargo on EU imports of Russian agricultural and fishery products as well as fossil fuels and liquefied natural gas transported by sea through pipelines."

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