EU divided over military aid to Kiev and Russia sanctions
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According to the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the EU is divided on its stance regarding military aid limits to Kiev and potential sanctions against Russia.
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Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (EPA)
According to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the EU is divided on its stance regarding the extent of military support to Kiev and potential penalties against Russia in the case of an escalation in Ukraine.
On Friday, Morawiecki stressed that all EU member countries agree that Ukraine must maintain its sovereignty. "The disagreements concern the scope of sanctions against Russia or provision of military support to Ukraine, [those are] the positions that must be agreed at the level of the EU or NATO. We need a strong voice, but not many divergent voices."
Morawiecki clarified that contrary to what most EU partners believe, the issue does not only concern Ukraine's security but also the security of Central and Eastern Europe as a whole, and the whole bloc.
The Prime minister also attacked Germany's stance towards Russia, as well as its unwillingness to deliver arms to Kiev.
He disclosed that although he does not "Expect Germany to be involved" in the conflict, he criticized their neutral statements regarding sending arms to Kiev and emphasized that "evasive" language such as claiming not to send weapons to Ukraine due to it being a "conflict zone" is not a serious policy.
Hysteria over Ukraine
The Kremlin has previously denounced the US for driving "hysteria" over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine with Putin saying the West is "escalating" the Ukraine war.
Regarding Russia's security guarantees, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that negotiations with the West are not over yet and Russia will not allow anyone to ignore its interests, maintaining that the West will not be able to evade the implementation of Moscow's conditions regarding the principle of indivisible security.
Lavrov added that Washington's adoption of a new sanctions package against Russia would be tantamount to severing relations and that American threats to expel the Russian Ambassador from the United States are "ugly", stressing that Russia wants the West to deal with it impartially.
He addressed the West saying that to support diplomacy, they must implement their commitments, adding that "the United States and NATO are trying to escape responsibility on security issues."
It is worth mentioning that Russia has repeatedly denied the Western allegations of intending to invade Ukraine, and Moscow's Foreign Intelligence Service accused the US State Department of spreading false information about the alleged troop buildup.
US sends 90,7 tons of armament to Ukraine
A week earlier, the US Embassy in Kiev announced the US delivered 90,7 tonnes of lethal aid to Ukraine in a new "military assistance initiative" overseen by US President Joe Biden.
The Embassy Tweeted details on its account, citing that the shipment includes ammunition for the "front-line defenders" of Ukraine.
The US Department of State announced on Tuesday that it will continue to provide military support to Ukraine, with fresh supplies anticipated to arrive in the coming weeks. On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov announced that his country calls on the United States to stop arms supplies to Ukraine, stressing that this is a direct threat to Russia.
On Monday, the United Kingdom said that it has delivered anti-tank weapons to Ukraine to aid in self-defense in the event of an invasion. Ukraine has also received military aid from the United States, including arms and training.
