Ukraine War: Threat of Striking Russia Directly

The final day of the Munich Security Conference is opened by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. “Contrary to what some say, Europe is not facing civilizational destruction. On the contrary. People still want to join our club,” she said at the beginning of her speech. Callas said the “waiting list is quite long,” but she hoped that “those who have been waiting a long time won’t have to wait much longer.”

Callas identified three priorities for Europe in the future. “First, there is European defense. It starts with Ukraine, but we know that Russia will not stop at Donbass. Outside of Ukraine, Russia is already trying to weaken economies through cyber attacks, satellite disruption, sabotage of submarine cables, destruction of alliances through disinformation, and, of course, the nuclear threat remains. To meet these threats, we are working on a new European security strategy“- said Callas.

“Russia is not a superpower. After more than 10 years of conflict, it has barely made any progress in Ukraine, and the price is 1.2 million losses,” the EU’s chief diplomat emphasized. “Russia is broken, its economy is broken, closed from the European energy market, and its own citizens are leaving. The main threat is that Russia gains more at the negotiating table than on the battlefield,” Kallas said.

Kallas: It is impossible to satisfy Russia’s maximum demands in negotiations

Speaking about negotiations with Russia on Ukraine, Kallas emphasized that “it is important not just to be at the negotiating table, but to know exactly what to ask for.” “Russian maximum demands cannot meet a minimalist response. If the Ukrainian army is limited in size, then the Russian army must also be limited. Russia brought destruction to Ukraine, Russia must pay for it, no amnesty for war criminals, the return of deported Ukrainian children. This is the minimum that Russia must agree to if peace is its goal,” Kallas is sure. At the same time, she emphasized that, in her opinion, this is not the Kremlin’s goal.

The head of the European Commission called stability in Europe the second priority. In this context, EU enlargement is “an antidote to Russian imperialism,” Kallas is sure.

The third priority for Europe is international cooperation. “The EU has built the largest free market in the world. We are also creating defense alliances, such as India and Australia this year,” said Kaja Kallas.