EU summons Russian ambassador to condemn Ukraine attack

The EU on Thursday summoned the Russian ambassador to the European Union to convey its "strongest condemnation" of the attack on Ukraine, the bloc's foreign policy service said in a statement.

Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov was condemned for the "unprovoked, unjustified invasion of Ukraine by armed forces of the Russian Federation" and told to convey to Moscow Brussels's demand for an immediate end to military operations, the statement said.

The secretary general of the EU's external action service, Stefano Sannino, summoned Chizhov at the direction of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

"Secretary General Sannino informed Ambassador Chizov that the EU's firm response to the Russian aggression will be decided" at an emergency EU summit taking place later Thursday in Brussels.

To many, a Russian military invasion of Ukraine & on the European continent was a shock.

To Syrians, however, Russia’s actions and the inability of the international community to stop it was no surprise.

W/comments from @rallaf @FARED_ALHOR @ruslantrad https://t.co/2JoSWMjbEu

— Will Christou (@will_christou) February 24, 2022

The summit is to agree a new round of sanctions - which Borrell has said would be the "harshest" ever imposed by the EU - that will be "both sectorial and individual" and coordinated with the EU's partners, particularly the United States.

After weeks of warnings from the United States and other powers, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a wide-ranging offensive into its neighbour, sparking fury from other world leaders and vows to ramp up sanctions on Moscow.