Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned that Europe is in a 'pre-war era' and that Ukraine must not be defeated by Russia for the good of the whole continent. He said war was 'no longer a concept from the past' and 'it's real and it started over two years ago'. His comments came after Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine's energy system on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week Moscow had 'no aggressive intentions' towards Nato countries, dismissing the idea that Russia would attack Poland, the Baltic states or the Czech Republic as 'complete nonsense'. However, he warned that if Ukraine used Western F-16 warplanes from airfields in other countries, they would become 'legitimate targets, wherever they might be located'.
Almost 100 missiles and drones were used in the latest Russian attack on Ukraine, leaving several regions experiencing partial blackouts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the tactic 'missile terror' and warned attacks on hydro-electric power plants could lead to a major environmental disaster. The mayor of Kharkiv described the damage to the grid as 'very serious' and said it could take two months to fully restore.
Appealing for urgent military aid for Ukraine, Tusk warned the next two years of the war would decide everything, adding: 'We are living in the most critical moment since the end of the Second World War.' He pointed out Russia had attacked Kyiv with hypersonic missiles in daylight for the first time, and said Putin's attempt to blame Ukraine for the jihadist attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall showed he 'evidently feels the need to justify increasingly violent attacks on civil targets in Ukraine'.
Tusk urged European leaders to bolster their defences, saying Europe would be a more attractive partner to the US if it became more self-sufficient militarily. Poland now spends 4% of its economic output on defence, while other European nations have not yet achieved the Nato target of 2%. He warned 'literally any scenario is possible' and that 'we have to mentally get used to the arrival of a new era. The pre-war era.'
Meanwhile, Ukraine's newly appointed commander-in-chief Gen Oleksandr Syrskiy admitted in a rare interview that Russia was outgunning Ukrainian forces 'about six to one' on the front line. He said Ukraine had lost territory it would 'undoubtedly have retained' had it been supplied with sufficient ammunition and air defence systems.
