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EU Commissioner Warns Letting Russia Escape Accountability Would Be a 'Historic Mistake'

Key point: EU Commissioner Michael McGrath warned that allowing Russia to avoid accountability for actions in Ukraine would be "a historic mistake of huge proportions," saying impunity could embolden further aggression. He stressed that victims' rights must remain central to any talks and cited extensive evidence of harm. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked U.S. efforts to help define steps toward ending the war.

10:25 PM, 12/01/2025Conflict
EU Commissioner Warns Letting Russia Escape Accountability Would Be a 'Historic Mistake'

As the United States seeks a role in brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, warned against granting Russia impunity for crimes committed in Ukraine.

"I don’t think history will judge kindly any effort to wipe the slate clean for Russian crimes in Ukraine," McGrath said. "They must be held accountable for those crimes and that will be the approach of the European Union in all of these discussions."

McGrath cautioned that excusing or overlooking those crimes would risk encouraging further aggression. "Were we to do so, to allow for impunity for those crimes, we would be sowing the seeds of the next round of aggression and the next invasion," he added, calling such an outcome dangerous and far-reaching.

He also emphasized the need to keep victims' rights central to any negotiation. "We cannot give up on the rights of the victims of Russian aggression and Russian crimes. Millions of lives have been taken or destroyed, and people forcibly removed, and we have ample evidence," McGrath said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly expressed gratitude to the U.S. administration for its involvement in efforts to define steps toward ending the war, posting that he is "grateful to the United States, to President Trump’s team, and to the President personally for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war."

As diplomatic activity intensifies, EU officials say they will press for accountability while engaging in discussions aimed at securing a durable, enforceable peace that protects victims and deters future aggression.

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