The EU needs a much clearer strategy toward Russia that should include not only strengthening its own defenses against Russian provocations but also greater support for Ukraine in returning the war onto Russian territory, EU Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius said at the Warsaw Security Forum during a panel discussion titled “Winning the War Before the War: European Strategies for Ukraine.”
“Sometimes we only think about how to defend ourselves from provocations, but Ukraine is now waging a real war and is capable of returning that war onto Russian territory using deep-strike capabilities. In my view, we could now do much more to support Ukraine’s capabilities in this area. If Putin does not want to stop the war, we need the war to move onto Russian territory. Ukraine is doing this work very effectively, reducing oil production in Russia,” Kubilius said.
He also recalled that EU military support for Ukraine since the full-scale invasion amounts to about €60 billion, which breaks down to roughly €20 billion per year — about 0.1% of the EU’s collective GDP.
“At the same time we are ready to invest 3.5% in our own defence,” he noted.
In this context, he said the EU should continue active discussions on using frozen Russian assets, which, in Kubilius’s view, could “change the rules of the game.”
Commenting on Russia’s continued profit from fuel sales, including to Europe, Kubilius said he personally believes countries such as Hungary or Slovakia, which continue to buy Russian fuel, have had enough time to find alternative suppliers.
He also warned that the shadow fleet Russia uses to export fuel could be employed for hybrid attacks.
“Although there is no definitive information yet, there is a possibility that Russia could use shadow-fleet ships to secretly launch drones from containers,” the commissioner said.
