A victory for Russia in the war against Ukraine would represent a failure for the United States, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell told AFP on Monday in kyiv, amid concerns about the continuation of the American aid to this country under Donald Trump.
KEYSTONE
“Certainly it would not be a victory for American leaders if Ukraine collapses and Putin wins the war,” Mr. Borrell warned in an interview with AFP.
Josep Borrell is the first senior European Union official to visit kyiv since the Republican’s triumph in the US presidential election last week.
His visit also comes at a difficult time on the front for the Ukrainian forces, exhausted by almost three years of large-scale Russian invasion.
Ukrainians are worried
The re-election of Donald Trump has set nerves in Ukraine and Europe, who fear that he will end American support, crucial for kyiv.
During his campaign, Mr. Trump questioned continued U.S. military and financial aid to Ukraine and said he could strike a quick deal to end that war.
Mr Borrell’s final trip to Ukraine before his departure from this post in December aims to reassure kyiv of Europe’s support.
The Kremlin on Monday denied information from the American newspaper Washington Post according to which Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone last week about the war in Ukraine.
Mr Borrell said he had no indication the two men had ever spoken, but added they would “definitely” speak.
“It’s not a surprise,” he said, noting that European leaders such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had also said they were ready to talk to Putin. “It’s part of the game.”
“I cannot anticipate what the position of the United States will be”
Europe has jointly spent around $125 billion to support Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion, while the United States has provided more than $90 billion, according to estimates by the Kiel Institute.
“I can’t anticipate what the United States’ position will be,” Borrell said. “But let me say one thing: we must escape the logic that the United States acts and we, Europe, reacts, we must have our own capacity for action.”
On the battlefield, Ukrainian troops have been losing ground for months to Russian forces, who are more numerous and better armed.
The objective of helping Ukraine, an official candidate for EU membership, to win the war remains “exactly” the same, Mr Borrell insisted.
And Putin’s goal is to put “Ukrainian society under the heel of Russian domination,” he said. “It’s existential” and Ukrainians “must therefore resist.”
Mr. Borrell, who visited a factory producing drones for the Ukrainian army during his visit, also said that the EU should increase its aid to the Ukrainian military industry in order to reduce the country’s dependence on Western deliveries. .
The EU has already invested 400 million euros to help boost Ukraine’s military production.
“It is much more effective to support Ukrainians in developing their own industrial capacity,” he said.
