EU’s Borrell urges Europeans to morally arm themselves and prepare for the worst

The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell, pointed out that Europe must “arm oneself morally”, “protect yourself financially” and “prepare for the worst” after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

“Faced with this situation, the most dangerous that we have faced in Europe since the end of the cold war, we have to arm ourselves morally, protect ourselves economically and prepare for the worst, constantly raising the level of our deterrence capacity and our power of political and military retaliation”, he writes in a forum published by the evening newspaper Le Monde.

The head of European diplomacy recalled that Europe has had to face conflicts and wars after the Second World War, as was the case after the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, but considers that no conflict on European soil had been this serious.

“Featuring a super-armed, nuclear-armed aggressor determined to destroy a nation he simply denies the right to exist.Borrell noted.

The European official indicated that Europe “does not want a confrontation with the Russian people”, both linked by strong historical and cultural ties, and praised the behavior of Russian citizens who have protested against this aggression.

“This situation probably implies a long and difficult confrontation with a determined aggressor, determined to ensure his survival.”, he pointed.

For Borrell, the bottom of the matter is found in nature “increasingly authoritarian regime of Vladimir Putin” and in his “deep conviction that the extension of freedom and democracy towards its borders would constitute an existential threat to its power”.

“This is a premeditated end to Ukraine’s democratic playground”, he added.

Borrell, who compared what Putin describes as a “military operation” in the Ukraine with the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938 by Adolf Hitler, questioned the intentions of Russia.

“Who tells us that after invading the Ukraine, to save the Russian-speaking people from the ‘genocide’ that the ‘Nazi’ Zelensky wanted to perpetrate, and after devouring Belarus, an emboldened Vladimir Putin would not want to ‘save’ the enclave of Kaliningrad and occupy the corridor linking it to Belarus via Poland and Lithuania to ‘protect’ Russian minorities in the Baltic states?”, he raised.

Borrell pointed out that, immediately, it is necessary to adopt strong personal and financial sanctions against a “dangerous and uninhibited” power, think of other forms of aid to Ukraine and its legitimate government in the event that it is replaced by a pro-Russian “puppet regime”. and challenge the international community at the UN about Moscow’s aggressive behavior.

“It is essential to remain united and determined, both within the EU and within NATO, because only the strength of our union can put Putin in check, who always imagines a weak, characterless or divided Europe. Europe cannot win this confrontation without learning to speak the language of power”, he defended.