Russian attacks in Ukraine: Western allies denounce an attempt at intimidation

This weekend's Russian attacks in Ukraine, one of which hit a train near the Polish border, aim to “disunite” kyiv's European allies and “intimidate” them, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

These attacks have “a very clear aim: to intimidate Europeans, to discourage them and above all to disunite them,” declared Jean-Noël Barrot on the sidelines of a summit on the Arctic in Finland, stressing that these strikes took place “at a time when Ukraine hosted a major economic support forum, in which a large number of business representatives and diplomatic representatives from all over the world and particularly from Europe participated.”

“It is clearly intended to scare Western countries so that they stop supporting Ukraine, that they give up going there to show their support,” declared the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Kaja Kallas.

“This will not deter us”

Another reaction came from the United Kingdom. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham condemns “unreservedly” the Russian strikes which damaged a train bound for Warsaw very close to the Polish border and denounces a “vain attempt” by Moscow to “undermine” the support of kyiv’s allies, his spokesperson said on Monday. “This will not deter us,” the spokesperson added. “Yesterday’s strikes (...) brutally reminded us that this war is not far away,” he also said.

“A drone strike against a train constitutes a calculated escalation on the part of Putin,” says German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. “What Vladimir Putin is doing is dangerous. He knows it, and that’s why he does it,” he added.

The NATO Secretary General was also questioned. For the former prime minister of the Netherlands, the Russian strike on a Ukrainian train shows how “desperate” Putin is. “Russia is showing increasing recklessness as it continues its terrible war against Ukraine,” he said.