Putin’s Russia has become even more brutal, so it is now important to strengthen support for Ukraine, primarily from the European Union, and to increase sanctions pressure.
This was stated by Lukas Mandl, a member of the European Parliament from the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), in a comment to a Ukrinform correspondent in Vienna.
“Many people around the world talk about peace. I am also happy to talk about peace. But Putin’s Russia has not eased its attacks; on the contrary, it has intensified them. Putin’s Russia has become even more brutal than it has been in recent months. We are still dealing with a heavily armed Russia that is ready to destroy human lives every day,” the MEP commented on the ongoing massive attacks by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian cities.
He stressed that “Ukrainians have been demonstrating their dedication to defending their country for three and a half years.” According to the MEP, in the current circumstances, when support for Ukraine from other parts of the world has become “unstable,” the European Union must strengthen its support for the Ukrainian people.
“The international community of the free world has supported Ukraine until now, and now the European Union must especially prove itself when support from other parts of the world has become unstable or is being questioned by individual politicians. The EU must remain firmly and reliably on the side of Ukraine. The EU is doing this. I am also pleased to note that the current UK government has formed a “coalition of the willing” with the European Union, in particular with some strong EU member states, to provide adequate support to Ukraine. This support is not a gift, but an action in the interests of our own security,” Mandl said.
The MEP pointed out that the restrictive measures taken against Russia are effective and stressed that new packages of sanctions “will be introduced as long as necessary.”
“We already have 17 packages of sanctions. It is not true that sanctions do not work. On the contrary, they are effective. Putin’s Russia is extremely weakened economically, forced to impose significant restrictions in all other areas of society in order to support its military economy, and must cooperate closely, in particular with the Iranian regime and other enemies of our civilization, in order to continue this war. Sanctions work, and sanctions packages will be imposed as long as necessary. Sanctions are a bloodless form of defense against this bloody war,” Mandl said.
He also commented on the recent SSU special operation “Spider Wed” to destroy Russian strategic bombers that attacked Ukrainian cities.
“I am a politician in the security field, not a military expert, but I trust military experts who say that this was an impressive and significant operation that achieved tremendous results and greatly contributed to saving human lives,” the MEP said.
As reported by Ukrinform, in recent days, Russia has been massively attacking Ukraine with strike drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities has suffered the most damage.
Photo: M. Lahousse
Source: Austrian MEP: Russia shows no will for peace, acts more brutally than before
