“Vladimir Putin has already lost”, assures the first vice-president of the European Commission

“Vladimir Putin has already lost” the war in Ukraine, said Wednesday, May 10 on France Inter Frans Timmermans, first vice-president of the European Commission. According to him, “no goal that had [le chef du Kremlin] a year ago did not last”. Frans Timmermans mentions in particular “the failed conquest of Bakhmout”.

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The First Vice-President of the European Commission considers that “the Ukrainians have the means to repel the Russians”. He insists on the help brought by Europe since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Frans Timmermans maintains that the states of the European Union are still “able to raise funds” as well as a “industrial will to manufacture the necessary ammunition in Ukraine”. He agrees with the opinion of Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who last week called on European industrialists to “go into war economy mode”.

The war in Ukraine “involves” Europe

“Democracies are always slower than dictatorships”, recalls Frans Timmermans. “We decide by consensus, and these democratic decisions take time”, says the First Vice-President of the European Commission. He estimates that “in a war situation, you have to adopt a very active attitude”.

.@TimmermansEU “Frankly, I think Putin has already lost [la guerre]. But you can lose a war and keep fighting.” #le7930inter pic.twitter.com/yfX0QvcImK

– France Inter (@franceinter) May 10, 2023

Frans Timmermans insists that this war in Ukraine “implied” Europe because it is not only a conflict, according to him. The First Vice-President of the European Commission indeed sees “an attempt to [la part de] Vladimir Putin to impose himself on his neighbors and he will want [ensuite] impose itself on us”. “It’s a fight for our freedom, for our future as free countries”, he throws. Frans Timmermans therefore salutes the “political will at European level and [celle] of all Member States to continue the effort of the Ukrainians to defend themselves”.