In a debate held today at the Munich Security Conference, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that Russia is not winning the war in Ukraine and appealed to the allies to provide Ukraine with offensive weapons, especially with weapons that could target Russia’s missile-launching capabilities. Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that in his last trip to Kyiv, he visited a heating plant that was destroyed by Russia and said that Ukraine needs the weapons to stop these actions. He encouraged allies to purchase weapons from Ukraine’s list and to use the PURL mechanism.
Secretary-General Rutte also said that China is the biggest circumventor of Russian sanctions and that we should not be naïve about China. He also reiterated that Europe should continue strengthening its defence instead of heavily relying on the US as the US needs to put its attention to the western hemisphere.
Ukraine is currently suffering electricity blackouts after Russia destroyed its electric and energy infrastructure with systematic missile and drone attacks. Russia has launched drones and missiles on Ukrainian cities as of earlier last night.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola denied that Europe is going through war-fatigue and said that next week she will be signing the approved €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine. She also said that the loan was approved swiftly and such complex processes usually take much longer to be implemented. During the discussion President Metsola also revealed that one of her sons is enlisted with Finland’s armed forces.
President Zelensky said that Ukrainians will not withdraw from their territories implying once again that Ukraine is not ready to offer any territorial concessions but may offer free trade zones with Russia instead. The Ukrainian President also said that for elections to take place in Ukraine, at least two months of ceasefire are needed. He then added that Ukraine is ready to give Russia a ceasefire if it also decides to hold elections.
US Senator and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee also took part in the debate and described Vladimir Putin as a war criminal.
You can watch the discussion here.
Newsroom
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