EU’s existence at stake in Ukraine, Borrell says

The European Union’s existence is at stake in Ukraine, said EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell in an interview with The Guardian and called for more active support of Kyiv.

Putin is not determined to stop full-scale aggression anytime soon, and the danger emanating from “a great power [Russia]” threatens European democracy, Borrell said.

“And if we don’t change course rapidly, if we don’t mobilise all our capacities, it will let Putin win the war in Ukraine,” the EU top diplomat emphasized.

Borrel says that Putin miscalculated both the strength of his own army and the strength of Ukrainian resistance, as well as the reaction of the Western world to his actions.

“Russia has never been able to become 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 as a result a threat to his neighbours – and particularly to us,” the diplomat said.

The Russian president will not be satisfied with “a piece of Ukraine” and will stand in the way of Ukraine’s path to the European Union. In addition, Putin expects the US presidential election to create a more favorable scenario for him.

“So we must prepare for a conflict of high intensity for a long time. Putin has decided to continue the war until the final victory,” Borrel added. 

The German Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius, earlier stated that Europe has 5 to 8 years to “catch up” in defense and prepare for new military threats. Meanwhile, the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, said that the world is experiencing a “fragmented world war.”