(Brussels) The military campaign led by Russia in Ukraine “is becoming more and more brutal”, said Monday the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, reporting “many” civilian casualties.
Posted at 11:23 a.m.
“The Russian military campaign is becoming increasingly brutal and the Ukrainian armed forces are fighting back with courage. Kiev resists, Mariupol resists, Kharkiv resists,” said Borrell after a meeting of EU defense ministers by videoconference.
The fighting is causing “many civilian casualties” and “the number of people fleeing the fighting is increasing”, he said, during a press conference.
“Our support for the Ukrainian forces is crucial,” said Josep Borrell, stressing that all member states agreed to increase it.
He announced on Sunday an agreement of the Twenty-Seven to provide the Ukrainian army with weapons worth 450 million euros, as well as protective equipment and fuel for 50 million.
“It’s the first time in history that we’re going to do it,” insisted Josep Borrell.
“Ukraine has also requested support for geospatial intelligence and we have mobilized our satellite center which is based in Madrid to work on this point,” he said.
Questioned by a journalist, the head of EU diplomacy also reconsidered his statements the day before concerning the supply of combat aircraft to Ukraine. But he did not specify which countries would deliver these devices or by what means.
“The countries that have them will be able to provide these fighter planes which must be able to be piloted by Ukrainian pilots”, he simply declared.
He welcomed Germany’s announcement of an increase in its military budget beyond 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP). According to him, the EU must “spend more, but also spend better”.
Finally, Josep Borrell insisted on the cost of European sanctions for Europeans themselves and the need to prepare public opinion for them.
“We are addicted to Russian gas and oil. We are going to reduce it as quickly as possible, which means developing renewable energies and hydrogen. But there will be turbulence in the energy markets. This will increase the prices that will be paid by consumers,” he warned.
“Our actions against Russia will have consequences and we must be ready for that. If we don’t pay this price today, we will pay a lot more tomorrow,” he said.