She was one of 12 EU foreign ministers, as well as other ministers and representatives, who were in Bucha outside Kyiv on Tuesday. They were there to honor the hundreds of civilians murdered by Russian soldiers shortly after the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. The many civilian victims were discovered when Ukraine retook Bucha on April 1, 2022.
The Middle East is casting a shadow
- Through our presence, we show solidarity with Ukraine and also contribute to important political attention at a time when the Middle East is taking up more and more attention, says Maria Malmer Stenergard.
They did not bring any new aid package. The latest sanctions package, the twentieth, is being blocked by Hungary and Slovakia. And Hungary is blocking the disbursement of an already approved loan of 90 billion euros to Ukraine, money that the Ukrainians desperately need. Hungary claims that Ukraine is delaying the repair of a pipeline that carries Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary.
Time is short.
No one expects things to change until after the Hungarian election on April 12, an election in which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has a real challenger with a chance of victory for the first time in a long time, opposition leader Peter Magyar. When asked if it will be easier if Magyar wins, Malmer Stenergard answers:
- I find it hard to see how it would get any more difficult.
But she notes that Viktor Orbán will remain in office for at least a month if he loses.
This is time that Ukraine does not have. I would like to see the EU look at all possible creative ways forward.
According to the Bloomberg news agency, Ukraine's war chest will run out in June. Deliveries of American weapons have also decreased.
Establish a tribunal
The ceremony in Bucha was also an opportunity to advance the issue of a tribunal for Russian crimes of aggression against civilians. Sweden is supporting the establishment and contributing money to it. The government hopes that it will soon be in place in The Hague in the Netherlands.
This will be the first time since Nuremberg that such a tribunal has been established. It is important that it can start working as soon as possible, says Malmer Stenergard.
Nuremberg refers to the tribunal established to hold leading Nazis accountable after World War II.
