Today, April 21, Estonia and Latvia became the first in the world to officially recognize the Russian Federation's military aggression against Ukraine as genocide. As the first in the world the MPs of the Riigikogu of the Republic of Estonia voted to recognize the actions of the Russian Federation as genocide of the Ukrainian people. The document, in particular, states that the genocide of the people of Ukraine is carried out by the political and military leadership of Russia. The adopted statement said that Russia committed acts of genocide (murder, torture, abduction, rape, deportation, imprisonment, desecration of corpses) in Bucha, Borodyanka, Gostomil’, Irpin’, Mariupol’ and other settlements of Ukraine.

The Latvian Saeima unanimously adopted a similar statement on Russian aggression and war crimes in Ukraine. The document states that Russia has been committing genocide against the Ukrainian people pointing to numerous pieces of evidence of mass brutal crimes, murders, torture and sexual violence.

"In the context of a full-scale war the parliaments of European countries began to recognize and condemn the genocide of the Ukrainian people. And the Baltic countries friendly to Ukraine are the first among them. By the way, in October 1993, the Estonian Parliament was the first in the world to recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide of the Ukrainian people. And today Estonian MPs were the first among EU member states to adopt a resolution recognizing Russia's actions as genocide. This is an extremely important signal for the entire international community. I’m grateful to our European colleagues who have shown their solidarity with Ukraine and brought the time of the putin regime's punishment closer. The policy of "denazification" and in fact the genocide of the Ukrainian people, aimed at the destruction of native speakers of culture and language, has received today the expected international legal assessment," Taras Kremin said.

"I call on members of the world's parliaments to support similar statements and recognize the genocide of the Ukrainian people by russia. Evil must be punished and destroyed! ”, the Commissioner emphasized.

Let’s remind that on April 14, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by a constitutional majority recognized the actions of the aggressor country as genocide of the Ukrainian people. The Resolution, in particular, emphasized the harassment of the Ukrainian language that the Russian military continues committing.