The European Union strongly condemned Russia's latest intensified attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, including the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, in a statement delivered at the OSCE Permanent Council on 25 June 2026. The EU reported that last week alone Russia launched around 2,200 attack drones, more than 1,800 guided aerial bombs, and 87 missiles against Ukraine, and that according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, at least 274 civilians were killed and 1,763 injured in May 2026, making it the deadliest month for civilians since April 2022. Long-range weapons caused 45 per cent of civilian casualties, with most victims in urban centres such as Kyiv and Dnipro, far from the frontline.
The statement, published by the EU Delegation to the International Organisations in Vienna on 26 June 2026, reiterated the EU's call on Russia to cease its aggression, withdraw all forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, agree to a full, unconditional and immediate ceasefire, and engage in meaningful negotiations towards a just and lasting peace. The EU reaffirmed its support for Ukraine, including through the EUR 90 billion Ukraine Support Loan, with a first disbursement expected by the end of the month, and welcomed the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk. It also noted that accession talks advanced with the opening of the first cluster on fundamentals on 15 June.
The EU announced it will step up pressure on Russia through further sanctions targeting Russia's military-industrial complex, energy revenues, shadow fleet, hybrid activities, state propaganda, systematic repression and human rights violations, including in temporarily occupied territories, as well as repeated disregard for the Chemical Weapons Convention. The EU demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all unlawfully detained civilians, including three OSCE staff members—Vadym Golda, Maksym Petrov, and Dmytro Shabanov—and called on Russia to comply fully with international humanitarian law in its treatment of prisoners of war and to ensure the safe return of all deported Ukrainian children. The EU also condemned the deployment of DPRK military forces in the war and continued military support to Russia by Iran, Belarus, and the DPRK, urging all countries to cease any assistance to Russia's war effort.
The statement was aligned with by Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, and Ukraine.