The European Union accuses Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine.
Russia is attacking the civilian population and is targeting hospitals, schools and shelters, among other things, according to a statement by the EU summit in Brussels published early Friday morning.
"These war crimes must stop immediately."
On Wednesday, the US government officially accused Russian troops in Ukraine of war crimes for the first time.
"Our assessment is based on a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
US President Joe Biden occasionally attended the EU summit as a guest on Thursday.
International Criminal Court responsible
War crimes are violations of international law that can be brought before the International Criminal Court.
War crimes include the targeted killing and starvation of civilians, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, and the use of nuclear or chemical weapons.
In its declaration at the Versailles summit two weeks ago, the EU had refrained from expressly using the term "war crimes".
Even then, however, there was talk of "indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population and civilian objects".
"Russia's groundless and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine grossly violates international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter."
The final declaration of the current summit now states that Russia's aggression against Ukraine blatantly violates international law and leads to massive loss of life and injuries to the civilian population.
Those responsible and their accomplices would be held accountable in accordance with international law.
Coordinated political, financial, material and humanitarian assistance will continue to be provided to Ukraine.
In addition, one is ready to quickly decide on further coordinated strong sanctions against Russia and Belarus.
Any attempt to circumvent the sanctions that have already been decided or to help Russia in any other way must be stopped.
Solidarity fund for financial support
The EU states have decided to set up a solidarity fund to provide financial support to Ukraine.
This also emerged from the statement by the heads of state and government.
The text reads: "Considering the destruction and enormous losses inflicted on Ukraine by Russia's military aggression, the European Union is committed to assisting the Ukrainian government in its immediate needs and after the end of the Russian offensive in rebuilding a democratic Ukraine support."
A pledging conference will be organized in due course to raise funds for the fund.
In addition, international partners are invited to participate in the development of the fund.
At the end of last week, EU Council President Charles Michel brought up the Solidarity Fund after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The reason given was that Ukraine needed access to international liquidity to finance the import of daily necessities and military equipment.
Under the current circumstances, the country is unable to issue bonds on the international financial market.
Private investments would also be deducted.
In the long term, the reconstruction of Ukraine in mind
The fund is said to initially ensure the functioning of the authorities and the continuation of defense efforts against Russia and emergency aid.
In the long term, massive investments for the reconstruction of the economy could then be financed in order to anchor Ukraine economically in the West.
In the past, the EU has already set up an emergency trust fund for Africa, among other things, to address the root causes of forced displacement and irregular migration and to contribute to better migration management.
Almost five billion euros were made available for it by the EU institutions, the EU member states and other donors by mid-2020 alone.