Four years ago, the world held its breath. When Ukrainian soldiers liberated the Kyiv suburb of Bucha after a month of Russian occupation, they were confronted with a scene of horror. Many of us will never forget those images: civilians shot dead in the streets. Murdered in their own front gardens. Burned. Thrown into cellars or sewers. Buried in mass graves. Countless reports of rape and torture. They offered a terrifying glimpse into the deepest abysses of human cruelty and put the spotlight on what people in the occupied territories of Ukraine have been suffering for the past 12 years.

Bucha stands as a symbol of countless other Russian war crimes. The massacres of Izyum, the bombing of the Kramatorsk railway station, the siege of Mariupol – wherever Putin’s Russia goes, murder and barbarism ensue.

But Bucha also stands for the strength of the Ukrainian army in recapturing large swathes of territory, as well as for the resilience and courage of the Ukrainian people. For their right to a future in peace and freedom, free from Russian oppression.

The meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Bucha and Kyiv today sends a clear signal that the Ukrainians are part of our European family. We are resolutely supporting them on their path towards the European Union, which they chose at the Euromaidan in 2014.

Today’s meeting also sends a clear signal to Russia that those responsible for this war and the crimes that have been committed must not go unpunished – we owe this to the victims and to their families and friends. That is why the Federal Government is supporting Ukraine in gathering evidence and documenting Russia’s crimes. As a founding member of the Claims Commission and through our commitment to a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, we are working together with our partners to facilitate the prosecution of Russia’s atrocities.

We in Germany, and also as the European Union, continue to have a clear goal, namely a just, resilient and lasting peace for a free and democratic Ukraine.

This bitter anniversary shows, however, that security still is not possible with, but only against Putin’s Russia. Moscow responds to all of Ukraine’s offers of dialogue and all ceasefire proposals with nothing but more war – with a barrage of bombs, missile strikes and swarms of drones.

Lasting peace for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe will therefore ultimately only emerge from Ukraine’s strength and from Russia’s realisation that it can achieve nothing further by military means. How long this will take is also up to Ukraine’s European supporters. We must make it clear that we have the greater staying power, that we stand united and that slackening our efforts is not an option. That must be the message from today’s meeting.