Last week, an underwater cable was damaged off the coast of Finland. Suspicion fell on Russia. The EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, is now calling for consequences.
For the first time, the EU blames Russia for the increase in acts of sabotage in Europe. “Sabotage in Europe has increased since Russia started its war against Ukraine,” EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas told the “Welt” newspaper.
The recent sabotage attempts, in particular the damage to the “Estlink 2” submarine cable in the Baltic Sea, are not isolated cases, but part of a pattern of coordinated actions to destabilize European infrastructure.
The EU suspects that the anchor of an oil tanker from the Russian shadow fleet damaged the cable. Kallas therefore announced stronger action against the Russian ships, which are also held responsible for environmental pollution and evading sanctions.
The EU’s foreign policy chief also commented on the crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane in Kazakhstan that killed 38, for which Russian leader Vladimir Putin apologized this weekend but took no direct responsibility. “There are increasing indications that Russian air defenses shot down the passenger plane.” Ultimately, the responsibility lies with Moscow. Russia’s war against Ukraine “created the conditions under which this accident could occur.” Russian air defense apparently wanted to neutralize a Ukrainian drone.
Kallas to Trump: be tough on Russia
Kallas called on the government in Washington to act confidently and tough on Russia in the future, even under the presidency of Donald Trump. “Aid to Ukraine is not a handout, but an investment in the security of all of us. If the United States takes a strong stand against Russia, problems with China will be avoided. Supporting Ukraine will protect Americans from future conflict.”
According to Kallas, new approaches need to be taken to provide more financial support to Ukraine. “Russia must pay for the damage it has caused. Kiev’s demand for compensation is legitimate. We need to discuss how some or all of the frozen (Russian) assets can be used to strengthen Ukraine.” So far, according to an EU decision, only interest profits have been skimmed off and invested in military equipment for Ukraine, while the reserves of the Russian Central Bank (approximately 210 billion euros) remained untouched.
Source: Krone
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