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Russia-Ukraine War: EU ambassador Ugo Astuto and Ukrainian chargé d’affaires Ivan Konovalov told HT in a joint interview that Russia could end the crisis by withdrawing its troops from Ukraine and ending hostilities. Excerpts from the interview.As the Ukraine war enters its second year, the European Union (EU) and Ukraine are looking to India’s active engagement in efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis and to counter the impact on global food and energy prices, including through the G20 process.

EU ambassador Ugo Astuto and Ukrainian chargé d’affaires Ivan Konovalov told HT in a joint interview that Russia could end the crisis by withdrawing its troops from Ukraine and ending hostilities.Astuto: What we see is an unprovoked and unjustified aggression by Russia, which is causing unmeasurable tragedy for the Ukrainian people. We see the bombing of civilians, we see mounting evidence of crimes against civilians being committed in occupied areas.

We know about Bucha but unfortunately there has been other evidence. And we see so far, an escalation of rhetoric and violence coming from the Russian leadership. What I can say is that the EU and its allies in NATO and beyond stand united in support of Ukraine. We have been supporting Ukraine politically, economically and with the provision of weapons and ammunition. We will continue to do so.

And as we speak, the European Council will consider the possibility of a tenth package of sanctions. These sanctions are incredibly deep and comprehensive in their reach. The point of the sanctions is to affect the capacity of the Kremlin to continue its war of aggression and to isolate the Russian leadership responsible for the aggression. We see the sanctions are already having an effect in several dimensions. You see the effect on the capital markets. You see the difficulty faced by Russia in accessing technology. I think we will see these sanctions biting ever more in the course of the months to come. But to conclude, let me say we have a situation where an aggressor needs to withdraw its troops, stop the hostilities and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a peaceful neighbour.

Konovalov: If you’re asking me regarding the price, it is unbelievable loss, not only for Ukraine, but for the whole civilised and peaceful world. Nobody can imagine how many people have died in the territory of Ukraine. Innocent people. First of all, kids, women, all civilians, then military personnel. That is unbelievable and nobody can imagine how many, it is countless. More than dozens of thousands we have lost. Innocent people, and it is unacceptable.

We are living in the 21st century, with the values of the 21st century. The Russian war in our country, what is happening right now, it is unprovoked, unexpected and terrible, which is unacceptable according to the [standards of] modern society.

Astuto: What we see is the Russian leadership has been unable to achieve its objectives, be it in military terms or political terms. After one year, it is clear the Russian Army has suffered setbacks. They are continuing their offensive but we also see the Ukrainian armed forces pushing back. I think the resilience of the Ukrainian people has been a central factor in developments over the last year. From the Europe side and NATO, what we intend to do is to continue supporting Ukraine and isolating the Russian leadership. I think this is a strategy which has been bearing fruit and which will continue in the months to come.