EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell is “not optimistic” about the events in Ukraine in the summer, and also predicts a new Russian military offensive.
The chief EU diplomat said this at the Cercle d’Economia conference in Barcelona, reports “European Truth” with reference to La Vanguardia and the BBC
“I’m not optimistic about what will happen in Ukraine this summer,” Borrell said.
In his opinion, Moscow will not sit down at the negotiating table without first trying to win the war in Ukraine.
“He (Putin – ed.) tried once and failed,” the EU’s top diplomat said, adding that the Russian Federation would try to retake Ukraine despite the significant losses of the Russian army.
“She (RF – ed.) still has power, we should not underestimate her,” he added.
Borrell noted the need to increase military spending in order to meet the defense challenges facing Europe.
He called Russia’s military presence in Ukraine “colossal.”
“Putin gathered over 300,000 people there, twice as many as when he launched the invasion,” Borrell said.
In his opinion, daily shelling, killings of civilians and destruction of infrastructure indicate that Russia has a plan that it adheres to.
“I’m afraid that all this definitely does not happen by chance and without a plan, and we need to be ready for the continuation of the conflict, which means continuing to help Ukraine, because if we do not help it, Ukraine will not be able to protect itself,” he said.
Recall that last week Josep Borrell expressed confidence that Ukraine could win a full-scale war with Russia.
Although Borrell did not specify whose statements he was commenting on, earlier in an interview with Bloomberg, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban just said that Ukraine is not capable of winning the aggressive war that Russia unleashed against it.
2023-05-29 19:40:00
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