Borrell calls a possible Russian victory a threat to Europe: deputy EU head fears a defeat for Ukraine

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At the end of spring, Ukraine was still hoping for a breakthrough in the war against Russia. The counter-offensive quickly bounced off the massive Russian defenses. With the arrival of winter, the fronts have strengthened again. Sometimes Kiev, sometimes Moscow, reports territorial gains. In the war of attrition, the Russians have the better cards with their virtually inexhaustible resources. Now Josep Borrell (76), Vice-President of the European Commission, warns that the survival of the European Union is at stake in Ukraine.

“Maybe this is the moment when we need to see the danger posed by a great power that threatens our democracy, that threatens Europe itself, and not just Ukraine,” Borrell told the British newspaper The Guardian. “And if we don’t change course quickly, if we don’t mobilize all our capabilities, Putin will be able to win the war in Ukraine.”

Borrell asks a question about fate without being able to answer it clearly: “The most important thing is what we can do to prevent Russia from winning the war,” said the EU’s head of foreign and security policy. “What are we willing to do?” he wonders. “Are we really willing to do whatever it takes?”

“Russia never succeeded in becoming a nation”

Russian President Vladimir Putin (71) “cannot be satisfied with a piece of Ukraine and leave the rest of Ukraine to the European Union, but he cannot be satisfied with a limited territorial victory either. He will not give up the war. So we must prepare for a long-term, high-intensity conflict.” And that will become a threat to Europe.

“Putin has decided to continue the war until final victory,” the Spaniard said. “Russia’s success depends on bringing as many people as possible to the battlefield. They currently have the largest number of dead and wounded on the battlefield” – and the greater human reserves: “In February, 150,000 soldiers gathered on the Ukrainian border. Now there are 450,000, three times as many.”

Despite his own great sacrifices, Putin is “still there and still willing to fight, to let his people die.” Putin makes his army and his people suffer. Russia has still not managed to break with its dark history. Borrell: “Russia never succeeded in becoming a nation. It was always an empire, with the Tsar, with the Soviets and now with Putin. It is a constant of Russia and its political identity – and therefore a threat to its neighbors. And especially for us.” (kes)

Source: Blick