Portuguese MEPs defend greater European support for Ukraine after Vladimir Putin’s speech, who warned on Wednesday that he will use all available means to protect Russia, accusing the West of seeking to “destroy” the country.
Paulo Rangel believes that the conflict in Eastern Europe is entering a new phase after the Russian president’s speech. For this reason, the PSD MEP argues that Europe must clarify that it will not recognize the results of referendums in pro-Russian territories.
“A referendum of this nature is aimed at integrating the territories into Russia, which means that any attack carried out in these regions of Ukraine will be seen by Russia as an attack on its territory,” he explained. Rangel also speaks of a new response from the Russians, from now on, which “will move from the logic of the special operation to the logic of war and even a general mobilization, saying that it is being attacked.”
The Russian president announced the mobilization of 300,000 reserve soldiers to help fight the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin’s statements were the central theme of the TSF Forum, this Wednesday and, in the opinion of Pedro Marques, European deputy for the Socialist Party (PS), there is fear that European support for Ukraine, against Putin, is decreasing, but he defends that a response must be given to the economic difficulties that the war got worse.
The socialist calls for “strong support from Europeans for Ukraine”, but for this “we must face the economic and social consequences of the war, with tension or limitation of the prices of electricity and gas”, which “already started before in Portugal and Spain” and may soon advance in Europe. All support is “decisive”, according to Pedro Marques, in the current economic context.
Along the same lines, Nuno Melo considers, after Vladimir Putin’s speech, that Russia “is increasingly isolated” from the West and, “in part, by China and India”.
Given this, the CDS-PP MEP considers that the European Union has “two alternatives”: support Ukraine, in the face of “international law of respect for human rights, democracy” or “capitulate in the face of violence, accepting force as an argument for the annexation of foreign territory”.
During Wednesday’s speech, Vladimir Putin clarified that the goal of the Russians is to liberate Donbass: “We have no right to leave the populations of Lugansk and Donetsk unprotected, victims of the barbaric attacks of the Ukrainian Nazis.”
More than six months after the start of the war in Ukraine, Putin thanked Russian citizens in Donbass, stressing that they are “true patriots” and that the country is “united by great Russia.”
“Steps are needed to defend Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.
This was the first message to the country from Putin since the start of the offensive in Ukraine, which he announced on February 24 as a “special military operation.”
Local authorities in the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Lugansk announced Tuesday that they will hold referendums from September 23 to 27 to decide on their annexation by Russia.
On Tuesday, Putin had already accused the European Union of blocking a Russian donation of 300,000 tonnes of fertilizer to countries that need it most, denouncing what he says are increasing obstacles the West poses to Russian exports.
*With Lusa
Source: TSF
