Kaja Kallas said that Ukraine must not give up its territory for the sake of peace — that it would send the wrong signal and incite all the villains to aggression.
Good words, a commendable statement.
But there are questions. Because there isn’t enough backing.
Last night, as part of its “peace initiatives,” Russia once again struck Kharkiv with modernized guided bombs. People were hurt.
The best way to deal with guided bombs is to systematically destroy Russian airfields within a 300 km radius. And long-range air defence systems. Not ground-based ones (because the Russians will sooner or later reach those), but airborne — planes with the right detection equipment and missiles.
The EU’s position on weapons is improving, but veeery sloooowly. And the decisions remain non-creative.
European officials can definitely do better — they just need to be properly motivated.
For example, everyone knows about roughly 900 tankers of the so-called Russian “shadow fleet.” Everyone sees them, but nobody touches them. Although they cruise in the Baltic and regularly cause problems.
Brussels has started working on some odd idea of obtaining permissions from the states that flag the ships carrying Russian cargoes for some kind of preventive inspection. That is, they want to frame this as a legally clean process with those who profit from the fraud.
This is a formal approach. A priori a dead-end bureaucratic hassle that obfuscates the issue. It might trundle along to preserve politeness and shield from complaints, but in parallel it’s high time to launch real mechanisms to bring Moscow to its senses.
For example.
An unofficial but crystal-clear rule is established: one guided bomb — minus one tanker; one missile — minus five tankers. If there are casualties, a multiplier is applied.
And you don’t have to seize anything.
The EU should create a special environmental team to selectively inspect certain ships for invasive insects and the protection of valuable molluscs. The risks are enormous!
Those ships would be placed in quarantine. At the expense of the cargo owners, with all fees. Say, for a couple of months. Or however long it takes. Repeat tests might be needed. Find no problems — everyone is released, fine.
A guided bomb strike — ecological risks spike. All in accordance with transparent European regulations.
A week or two — and the “shadow fleet” will only be able to operate in the Far East. China won’t suffer. Comrade Erdoğan will be a bit upset, but Comrade Trump has already preemptively sent him compliments. Comrade Modi has also been warned.
No way to adequately help with air defence — deploy the most lethal European weapon: European bureaucrats.
And, oh please. Don’t tell me this is a slippery slope to abuses. When Brussels needs to, it is very pragmatic. And they know how to send clear signals to villains — they just don’t always want to.
