Brussels After the Wagner mercenary uprising in Russia, EU leaders have reaffirmed their support for Ukraine. It is important to “arm each other” now, said Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Thursday at the EU summit in Brussels. The EU will support Ukraine for as long as necessary.
For the first time, the 27 heads of government had the opportunity to discuss the situation in Russia after the Wagner rebellion against President Vladimir Putin. The uprising shows once again that it is irresponsible to give military power into private hands, said Scholz. After the “unforgivable” crimes of Wagner’s troops in Ukraine and Africa, the mercenaries now also threatened stability in Russia.
At the weekend, the Chancellor had already called his colleagues from France, Poland, the USA and Great Britain. It is important that everyone stayed calm, said Scholz. “We are not a party to what is happening in Russia. Our goal here is not a change of government, a regime change, in Russia.” The goal is an independent Ukraine.
The strategy session, to which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was also connected via video, was supposed to be about further military and financial support for Ukraine – as well as about Ukraine’s further integration into the EU.
In the final declaration, the states of Ukraine hold out the prospect of further security guarantees. The exact modalities have not yet been decided. However, these are bilateral guarantees from individual governments, not an EU guarantee.
“As states, we have committed ourselves to continuing to owe Ukraine something in terms of its security,” said Scholz. Germany and its closest allies are already holding talks with Kiev.
EU wants to send signal to Putin
Finland’s new Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who was attending an EU summit for the first time, said: “We have to send a clear signal to the Ukrainian people that we stand by them.” won’t win this war. We support Ukraine as long as it is necessary.”
Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krisjanis Karins called the security commitments for Ukraine “interesting”. But the only thing that will guarantee lasting peace after the end of the war is full NATO membership for Ukraine. Likewise, one must help the country on the way to the EU and open the accession negotiations.
Krisjanis Kanis added that the Wagner uprising shows the “internal confusion in Russia”. The EU must now reinforce its eastern flank with troops and tighten border controls. The presence of the Wagner troops in Belarus is a “threat” for the neighboring EU countries. There is a risk of infiltration. Attempts from Belarus to cross the borders are already being observed every day.
The leaders of Poland and the Baltic countries are also pushing to use the Russian central bank’s frozen reserves in the EU for Ukraine. There are around 200 billion euros in accounts in the EU, which are continuing to grow thanks to interest and investment gains.
“When we talk about the reconstruction of Ukraine, it is not fair that we pay for it with our taxpayers’ money,” said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. “This should come from Russia’s revenues. If we have the assets, we should use them for this purpose.”
In the coming weeks, the Commission intends to present a proposal on how the interest gains could be used without violating international law. Several member states, including Germany, are skeptical about this. They fear setting a precedent and undermining confidence in the euro area.
Kallas said Russia has a legitimate claim to his money. But it is also destroying Ukraine on a daily basis, so Ukraine has a legitimate claim against Russia. The EU only offsets these two claims against each other.
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