President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, gave an address about the war in Ukraine. In her speech she said that, “It is estimated that more than 20,000 civilians and more than 100,000 Ukrainian military officers have been killed so far. ” This portion of the video was removed from the address several minutes after the video was published. The European Commission spokesperson, Dana Spinant tweeted an explanation saying “The estimation used, from external sources, should have referred to casualties, i.e. both killed and injured, and was meant to show Russia‘s brutality.”
Many thanks to those who pointed out the inaccuracy regarding the figures in a previous version of this video.
— Dana Spinant (@DanaSpinant) November 30, 2022
The estimation used, from external sources, should have referred to casualties, i.e. both killed and injured, and was meant to show Russia‘s brutality. https://t.co/GesDe7bK8v
Transcript
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought death, devastation and unspeakable suffering. We all remember the horrors of Bucha. It is estimated that more than 20,000 civilians and more than 100,000 Ukrainian military officers have been killed so far.
Russia must pay for its horrific crimes, including for its crime of aggression against the sovereign state. And this is why, while continuing to support the international criminal court, we are proposing to set up a specialized court backed by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression. We are ready to start working with international community to get the broadest international support possible for this specialized court.
Russia must also pay financially for the devastation that it cost. The damage suffered by Ukraine is estimated at 600 billion euros. Russia and its oligarchs have to compensate Ukraine for the damage and cover the cost for rebuilding the country. And we have the means to make Russia pay. We have blocked 300 billion euros of the Russian Central Bank Reserves, and we have Frozen 19 billion euros of Russian oligarchs money.
In the short-term we could create with our partners a structure to manage these funds and invest them. We would then use the proceeds for Ukraine. And once the sanctions are lifted, these funds should be used so that Russia pays full compensation for the damages caused to Ukraine. We will work on an international agreement with our partners to make this possible. And together we can find legal ways to get to it. Russia’s horrific crimes will not go unpunished.
