After a long holiday break by MEPs, a debate on Ukraine and Gaza took place in a near empty European Parliament chamber and with most political group leaders absent.
The discussions on Tuesday (9 September) in Strasbourg followed Russia's largest aerial assault on Ukraine over the weekend since its 2022 invasion.
The attack saw some 800 drones hit Kyiv on Sunday alone, followed by direct threats against Finland from Russian security council chairperson Dmitry Medvedev.
"Putin has zero interest in peace, and he will not stop the war until he's forced to," Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, told the near empty Strasbourg chamber.
Kallas said the EU and member states had provided Ukraine with almost €169bn of financial support since the full-scale war was started in 2022 by Russia.
She said Europe was the largest backer of Ukraine's own defence industry through windfall profits from Russian frozen assets, and amid appeals to pile on more pressure on the Kremlin to help end the war.
Marta Kos, the EU enlargement commissioner, also spoke and made the case for Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
"Ukraine's path to accession is a matter of survival, of sovereignty and of a long term security," she said.
But the optics of a near-empty chamber after a long holiday break possibly sends a political signal about the importance MEPs now attach to either war.
The speaker list did not include any group political leaders and most of their vice-chairs and vice-presidents were also absent, leaving lesser known MEPs to deliver views on their behalf.
A subsequent debate on Gaza saw similar absences of political group leadership in the chamber despite Israel's fresh assault on Gaza City, widespread famine, and genocide designations.
It is not the first time European Parliament debates have taken place in near empty chambers –– a persistent issue that has led to internal efforts to boost plenary debate attendance records.
At a press conference, also on Tuesday, centre-right EPP party chief Manfred Weber said a new reality was emerging in Russia's fight against Ukraine and that calling Gaza a genocide was not helpful in stopping Israel.
"We should really, in a way, as Parliament here, also open the doors and windows and have a look about what is happening outside of this plenary in the European Union," he said, noting that nearly 90,000 jobs in the car industry were lost in one year.
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Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.
Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.