EU’s Borrell warns coming months ‘decisive’ for Ukraine war
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell attends a meeting in Washington on March 13, 2024
Washington – EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned Thursday that the Ukraine war could be decided in the coming months, urging during a visit to Washington for allies to rush aid to Kyiv.
“It’s this spring, this summer before autumn that the war in Ukraine will be decided,” Borrell told reporters Thursday afternoon.
After a stop in New York to address the UN Security Council, Borrell was visiting the US capital for meetings with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, among other events.
Borrell said that in all his meetings, he has stressed the consequences of what a Russian victory in Ukraine would be.
If President Vladimir Putin “wins this war and conquers Ukraine and puts a puppet regime in Kyiv — as the one we already have in Belarus – he will not stop there,” Borrell said.
“The next months will be decisive,” he said, adding that “whatever has to be done, it has to be done quickly.”
A $60 billion Ukraine aid package passed by the US Senate has been blocked in the Republican-led House, as Speaker Mike Johnson calls first for more action against illegal immigration.
“Many analysts expect a major Russian offensive this summer and Ukraine cannot wait until the result of the next US elections,” Borrell said.
He warned that “if Putin succeeds, it will have enormous repercussions for America and for the system of alliances built around the US and Europe.”
In that scenario, “no country could be sure anymore” that the United States would “come to help any ally” under attack, he said.
During his Washington visit, Borrell also met with Don Bacon, a Republican member of the US House of Representatives, a senior EU official said.
Borrell asked Bacon to imagine “Russian tanks in Kyiv, a puppet government… Russian troops on the Polish border, on the Balkan borders,” the official said.
Bacon was also asked to take the message to a gathering of House Republicans currently meeting in West Virginia, according to the official.
“It’s not a game without consequences. In a matter of months, Ukraine can be in an untenable situation,” the official said.
“Imagine the scenario of Russia winning the battle, because we don’t provide to Ukraine with the capacity to resist… Republicans should think about it.”