President Maia Sandu’s Speech at the Conference on the Adoption of the Convention Establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine

Prime Minister Dick Schoof,

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,

Secretary General Alain Berset,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for bringing us together.

We meet as Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine continues to take lives, destroy cities, and weaken the foundations of European security. 

So amid all high-level discussions, we must keep the ultimate objective in mind: to save lives, stop the suffering and bring peace that does not give rise to the next war.

Moldova supports all efforts that bring an end to the war and the suffering it causes, all efforts that lead to a dignified peace, and all efforts that prevent a future war.Because how this war ends will shape Europe’s future.

In this sense, history is consistent. Peace without accountability rarely holds. Where responsibility is affirmed through law and institutions, societies recover. Where accountability is avoided or postponed, violence returns—often in more destabilising forms. 

Accountability is about creating the conditions for peace that endures. And therefore accountability is a condition of security – today and for the future. 

But accountability is not only about Ukraine. And it is not only about one aggressor and one victim.

Accountability is about Europe. About every country in Europe. It is about whether Europe, as a whole, is willing to defend its peace.  

And let us be honest: this war is already affecting our normal ways of life far beyond the front line.

Drones violate European airspace disrupting travel plans.

Critical infrastructure is targeted through sabotage.

Cyberattacks disrupt services.

Disinformation seeks to divide our societies from within.

This is how modern, hybrid war spreads—quietly, gradually, and deliberately. The front line is not only in Ukraine. It is wherever Europeans expect safety, stability, and normality—and begin to lose them.

This moment is about Ukraine—but it is also about whether free and sovereign nations in Europe can protect their people from evil and harm. Whether we, Europeans, can hold together in solidarity to defend our way of life, our democracies, our peace. 

That is why the Convention we sign today, establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine, matters. 

This matters first and foremost for people. For those who lost family members. For those whose homes were destroyed, whose lives were forever changed. Law cannot undo loss, but it can recognise harm, restore dignity, and affirm that suffering is neither invisible nor forgotten. 

Secondly, it also matters for the international system. Accountability, when it is credible, predictable, and institutionalised, tells aggressors that violations will be recorded, assessed, and addressed.

Third: the way this Commission has been created sends a signal. It affirms multilateralism and a rules-based international order. At a time when some argue that power alone should decide outcomes, Europe is stating something different: that stability depends on law, cooperation, and shared responsibility—especially for smaller and more vulnerable states.

The Council of Europe has provided a credible institutional framework for this effort. I also wish to acknowledge the role of the Netherlands. The Hague has long stood as a centre of international law, and its engagement has been essential in moving this effort forward.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We should also be clear-eyed about the reality on the ground. Ukraine is resisting. It continues to defend its territory, its people, and Europe’s security. Russia has not achieved its objectives. 

Every meter of advance in Ukraine comes with colossal human and military costs for Russia. This war will soon last longer than Russia’s participation in the Second World War. The fact that Moscow has still failed to take the Donbas is evidence of Ukraine’s extraordinary capacity to resist and adapt.



President Zelenskyy, 

Ukraine’s resilience matters far beyond its borders. It preserves Europe’s peace.

Europe’s security now depends on whether Ukraine is supported—and whether Russia is denied the capacity to continue this war and prepare the next one.

Ukraine must continue to receive strong, sustained support. Not sporadically. Not cautiously. But with the understanding that Ukraine’s success is a precondition for Europe’s future peace. Supporting Ukraine now is an investment in preventing much larger conflicts later. 

At the same time, Russia’s ability to wage war must be reduced. Sanctions matter. Isolation matters. Pressure matters. A war of aggression cannot be allowed to remain economically sustainable. Deterrence that works today avoids far greater military, economic, and human costs in the future.

The EU’s decision to indefinitely freeze Russian assets plays a role in this effort. It reinforces deterrence. It tells future aggressors that war leads to lasting costs.

How this war ends will determine whether Europe faces stability or more wars. And this is Europe’s responsibility. Not someone else’s. Not another continent’s. The responsibility lies with Europe—to stand for peace, to support Ukraine, and to defend the foundations of our security, democracy and well-being. To do so decisively, or to fail history—and in doing so, endanger Europe’s democratic and peaceful future.

Ukraine is fighting. The question before us is whether Europe will rise to the moment—or fail.

I thank all countries represented today for their support to Ukraine. 

And as the country holding the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Moldova stands for a Europe that acts early, decisively, and together. A Europe that understands that supporting Ukraine and deterring aggression today is the price of peace tomorrow.

Thank you.