Westerners won’t have to ‘die for Donbass’ – EU’s Borrell — RT World News
The bloc's top diplomat said members should not scare people by exaggerating the threat of direct conflict with Russia
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell insisted that Western backers of Ukraine would not send troops into Ukraine. “Death for Donbass” They should not unnecessarily frighten their citizens by exaggerating the possibility of direct conflict with Russia.
“I heard some voices saying war is imminent.” Borrell told reporters on Thursday before attending a European Council summit in Brussels. “Well, thank God, war is not imminent. We live in peace. We support Ukraine. We are not part of this war. “We only support Ukraine.”
The summit is largely focused on efforts to increase European support for Kiev amid US President Joe Biden's difficulties in getting congressional approval for additional aid to Ukraine. Borrell said that paying aid is not related to sending American or European forces to Syria “Die for Donbass.” Rather, the goal is to help Ukrainians, so that they are not killed during the fighting in Donbas.
The EU's top diplomat made his comments amid a surge of statements from European leaders proposing to provide more aid to Ukraine because NATO members would be threatened by possible Russian attacks if Kiev is defeated.
French President Emmanuel Macron went so far as last month to say that Kiev's supporters could not rule out sending troops to Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed on Wednesday that Moscow's ambition “It does not end in Ukraine”
Borrell responded to such statements on Thursday, saying so “Calling Europeans to be aware of the challenges we face is a good call, but we should not exaggerate either. We must prepare for the future, increase our defense capabilities, and increase the defense capabilities of our industry.”
The diplomat suggested using income generated from the Russian Central Bank's frozen reserves – estimated at about 3 billion euros ($3.25 billion) annually – to help finance aid to Ukraine. He proposed using 90% of revenues to purchase weapons for Kiev and allocating the remaining 10% to help build Ukraine's defense industry. Moscow warned that the scheme amounts to theft and will undermine Western currencies, the global financial system and the global economy.
With Russian forces making battlefield gains in Donbas in recent months, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned on Tuesday that Ukraine's very survival would be at risk if the West failed to provide more weapons to Kiev.
Source link
