President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the EU sees Russia’s aggression as a direct threat to security. She was addressing the inaugural session of the seventh edition of the Raisina Dialogue - the flagship conference of New Delhi on global issues.

“I saw with my own eyes, the bodies lined up on the ground. I saw the mass graves. I saw the scars of bombs on schools, residential houses and hospitals. These are severe violations of international law. Targeting and killing innocent civilians, rejoin borders by force, subjecting the will of free people goes against the core principles enshrined in the UN Charter”, - Leyen said.

In Europe, she mentioned, “We see Russia’s aggression as a direct threat to our security. We will make sure that the unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine will be a strategic failure. This is why we are doing what we can to help Ukraine to fight for freedom. This is why we need to impose massive sharp and effective sanctions”.

Leyen later urged all members of the international community to support the efforts of the European Union for lasting peace.

“Russia and China have a pact and it seems declared that the friendship between the two countries has no limits. They are no forbidden areas of cooperation. This was in February this year. And then, invasion of Ukraine followed. If we consider what it means for Europe and Asia, Russia and China have forged seemingly unrestrained pact. They’ve declared that friendship between them has no limits, no forbidden areas of cooperation. It was in Feb this year. Then, the invasion of Ukraine followed”, - she said.