The diplomat assures that the conflict will be decided on the battlefield, while the sanctions will only be felt in the long term
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, assured this Monday during the EU Foreign Council that “the war in Ukraine will be decided on the battlefield” and pointed out that the “important thing now is to help kyiv”, in reference to the shipment of weapons by the Member States. These statements were seen in Moscow as a threat. In an interview broadcast this Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the bloc’s shipment of weapons to kyiv is “a very dangerous 180-degree turn” in European policy.
His meeting with the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, and the visit to Bucha seem to have changed the discourse of the head of European diplomacy. During his trip to kyiv, he announced that the EU would increase funds for sending lethal weapons to the country to 1.5 billion euros.
The community bloc has been sending weapons and humanitarian aid to the country in a coordinated manner for almost a month. “In addition, many countries are also helping on their own,” said Borrell. As he explained, some States have spent 300 million euros on military equipment and others have allocated a third of their defense budget to military aid to kyiv.
This aid, said the diplomat, will be the one that will make the difference on the battlefield. «There is no need to have illusions. Turning off the gas tap is not going to have an immediate effect for defensive purposes. The Russian Army, in the short term, is going to remain the same with or without the gas money. What counts now is help to Ukraine », he stressed.
The unit dissolves
Sending heavy weapons to kyiv was one of the most important requests made by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva at last week’s NATO meeting. However, the debate has already shown the seams of the Atlantic Alliance. Countries like Hungary or Bulgaria are reluctant to send weapons and Budapest does not allow them to pass through its territory on the way to kyiv. Spain, for its part, was opposed to sending heavy weapons to the country, such as planes or tanks.
The gap between European countries is also evident when it comes to negotiating energy sanctions. This has been the Achilles heel of community unity since the crisis began. This Monday, the Twenty-seven gave their approval to the Russian gas embargo and Borrell insisted that “all sanctions are on the table”, including those of the possible veto on Russian oil and gas.
Brussels is aware that the punishments for oil and gas will come sooner or later, but these measures are totally rejected by countries such as Germany, Austria and Hungary, due to their great dependence on gas from Moscow. Other states, such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Lithuania and the Czech Republic urged this Monday to increase the pressure on Russia.
The consensus seems complete on the view that the Russian Army is committing war crimes in Ukraine. Brussels announced on Monday that it will financially support the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office and that of the International Criminal Court to “investigate and prosecute those guilty of the atrocities committed” during the invasion, most attributed to Russian forces.
Topics
Josep Borrell Fontelles, Volodimir Zelenski, NATO, European Union (EU), Germany, Austria, Brussels, Spain, Holland, Hungary, kyiv, Moscow, Ukraine, War in Ukraine
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