Russia is suffering military, economic and political defeat, and its recent provocations in the skies over European countries have had the opposite effect — only strengthening support for Ukraine.
This was stated by France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot during his remarks at the Warsaw Security Forum panel “Increasing the Stakes: Should Europe Be Feared?”.
“Russia’s latest provocations in the skies pursued two aims: first, to conceal its defeats on the front line; second, to try to discourage European countries from further supporting Ukraine. In my view, this has turned out to be extremely counterproductive, as it has triggered additional support for Ukraine,” Barrot stressed, adding that time is now working against Russia.
According to him, the Russian Federation is currently being defeated not only on the battlefield.
“It is losing militarily, economically and politically. Three years have passed and Russia has achieved no progress at the front, while its civilian economy is now collapsing because of the resources Putin is pouring into the war effort. This is due to the effectiveness of the Ukrainian armed forces destroying Russia’s logistics hubs and energy facilities, and to the sanctions we have imposed and will again impose in coordination with the Trump administration,” he explained.
Responding to a question about the coalition of the willing, the French minister called it “100 percent ready” and as important for Europe’s security as the creation of NATO once was.
“The coalition of the willing is one of the most important initiatives in European security in decades — perhaps since NATO was created 76 years ago. In the face of a continent-wide security threat, about 30 countries — mostly from Europe but also from North America and Asia — have come together to provide temporary military planning, develop security guarantees and deter further aggression,” Barrot elaborated.
According to him, this is of huge importance not only for Ukraine, as it means that even when NATO cannot provide a solution to a specific security issue, the coalition “together with NATO, in cooperation with NATO, is ready to take on responsibility.”
