The Ukrainian capital was attacked on the night of Wednesday, August 28 by a Russian air attack, among the most important since the beginning of the war on Wednesday, August 28. A total of 598 drones and 31 missiles were fired from the country at least 17 dead, including four children. Housing buildings have been scammed in the heart of kyiv and the facilities of the European Union delegation were affected.
Enough to trigger a brainstorm of European leaders. They denounce in the words of Emmanuel Macron the “terror” and the “barbarism” of Russia that kill civilians but also the symbolism of such an attack against a diplomatic building.
“The EU will not be intimidated. Russian aggression only strengthens our determination to support Ukraine and its people,” said the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, said “horrified by a new night of Russian missile murderous attacks against Ukraine.”
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said “outraged” by the attack “that killed men, women and children” and that “Socava (the) European diplomatic mission.”
“No diplomatic mission must be attacked,” said EU Diplomacy Chief Kaja Kallas. When German Chancellor Friedrich Merz considered that the representation of the EU “taken for the objective attests to the fact that the Russian regime has less and less scruples.” Russia “again showed his true face,” he said.
“A political message”
The Russian army presents these attacks against civil buildings and the facilities of the EU delegation as collateral damage. She claims to have signed only “companies of the military-industrial complex.”
For the former French ambassador to Russia, Claude Blanchemaison, contacted by BFMTV.com, this statement is “probably false.” “Anyway, by blurring the Ukrainian cities of drones and missiles, by bombarding whole neighborhoods, Russia knows that it runs the risk of reaching buildings of diplomatic representations,” he abounds.
The British Council, which promotes a better knowledge from the United Kingdom and the English language and is close to the offices of the EU delegation, has also been affected. “This suggests that it is not completely random,” says Ulrich Bounat, geopolitical analyst and researcher associated with Think Thank Euro Craiv.
These attacks arise as diplomatic approaches in search of peace have accelerated, without success, in recent weeks in Donald Trump’s leadership. European leaders have also been particularly mobilized. A few days after the historical summit between US President and Vladimir Putin in Alaska, a dozen of them, including Emmanuel Macron, remained with Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington.
Intense negotiations are also underway among Kyiv’s allies to determine what type of security guarantee to offer to avoid any new Russian attack in case of a peace agreement.
Finally, the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Polish president and prime minister of Donald Tusk, made a symbolic demonstration this Wednesday, August 27 in Moldova. They supported Chișină in order to join the European Union against the “lies” and “interference” in Moscow, on the eve of a crucial electoral campaign.
For Ulrich Bounat specialist, Moscue probably wanted to “send a political message,” shown that “Europe does not count.” “The fact that Europeans are trying to weigh on discussions, and that they want to grant security guarantees to Ukraine, because Russia is no,” he analyzes. “Russia has cried its current relationship with the European Union anyway.”
“We know the feeling of hostility of the Kremlin for the EU,” adds Claude Blanchemaison, ambassador to Moscow from 2000 to 2003.
“Although Russia is doing, there will be no consequences”
In more general terms, these attacks show the inflexibility of the Kremlin. Since the negotiations have accelerated, the Russian army has intensified its bombings. Russia “chooses to continue killing and not put an end to war” and “his acts still do not fear”, he launched the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking of “massacre of horrible and deliberate civilians.”
After an appeal with Donald Trump, president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen urged Vladimir Putin to “come to the negotiating table.”
If Kremlin Dmitri Peskov spokesman said Thursday that Russia remained “interested” by these peace negotiations, he indicated that the army would continue to attack Ukraine.
“These strikes on kyiv put Donald Trump against their failure. They are a reflection that, although Russia will do, there will be no consequences,” says Ulrich Bounat. While condemning the “terrible” Russian strikes about kyiv, Donald Trump’s special emissary for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said “threaten the peace that the president of the United States seeks to obtain.”
After the strike in the diplomatic building, the European Union and the United Kingdom summoned the Russian ambassadors respectively in Brussels and London. “They have the will to demonstrate that it is not acceptable, but it will be difficult to go further,” explains the geopolitical analyst. “A 19 sanctions package could be taken, already in the boxes, but it will only have an impact if they manage to assure the Americans, and with Donald Trump, it will be complicated.”
Source: BFM TV
