Where are the decision-makers who will finally speak up for peace and take action to achieve it?

At its October plenary session, the European Parliament (EP) held a debate on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. Speaking in the debate, Viktória Ferenc, an MEP of Transcarpathian origin, pointed out: “Since the beginning of the war, at least 17,000 civilians have lost their lives in Ukraine. That is equivalent to the entire population of a small Transcarpathian town, such as Szolyva (Svaliava). An entire town’s worth of civilian lives has already been lost. And the suffering is not diminishing: in the first eight months of 2026 alone, more civilians were killed or injured than in the whole of the previous year.” She stressed that, as a result of unlawful conscription, even those who would otherwise be exempt from military service or are entitled to a deferment are being sent to the front. There are also growing numbers of reports of such unlawful conscription practices and of serious, systemic human rights violations. “Every day, people in Ukraine are asking the same question: when will this nightmare end? Where are the decision-makers who will finally speak up for peace and take action to achieve it?” the MEP asked.

In her speech, Viktória Ferenc said: “When visiting my homeland, Transcarpathia, I have seen with my own eyes communities in mourning and cemeteries filled with military graves, where Hungarian men also lie buried. I hear the desperate accounts of elderly people, mothers and wives struggling with the hardships of everyday life without the men in their families. As a result of unlawful conscription, even those who would otherwise be exempt from military service or are entitled to a deferment are being sent to the front. And there are growing numbers of reports of such unlawful conscription practices and of serious, systemic human rights violations.”

Viktória Ferenc stressed: “And what is Europe doing? It remains silent about all of this. Just as many do not dare to say that, under the Copenhagen criteria, restoring the rights of national minorities is a requirement for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, not a recommendation.”

“If the people of Ukraine truly matter to you as much as you say they do, then it is time to act for peace,” the MEP concluded.