コロラド対ジョージア工科大学
Russia’s actions are ‘reckless, dangerous and a threat to life,’ Nato’s Rutte warns, but says they only strengthen resolve to help Ukraine
In his speech, Rutte repeatedly praises Germany’s role within Nato, and then eventually gets to his stark assessment of the situation in Ukraine – and Europe.
He says:
“Russia’s brutal attacks against Ukraine are unrelenting. Russia is suffering enormous losses, now estimated at more than 40,000 killed or seriously wounded every month. Think about it for a moment. Over 40,000 every month.
Despite those heavy losses, Putin shows no willingness to bring the war to an end.
Instead, Russia repeatedly strikes Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, often targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and at the same time, the list of Russia’s malign hybrid activities across Europe grows longer and longer: cyber-attacks, sabotage, arson, airspace violations, drone incidents.
…
The latest hostile actions by Russia are reckless, dangerous and a threat to life. But we are not intimidated. We know these are the tactics of a desperate regime that is failing to meet its objectives in Ukraine. Putin thinks he can divide us, destabilise us and weaken our support for Ukraine. But he will fail. These malicious actions are having the opposite effect.”
Key events
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Poland issues third security alert to residents in areas bordering Ukraine in one day
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Malta warned of corruption crisis after Daphne Caruana Galizia verdict sends ‘chill down the spine’
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Macron meets Stubb for talks on Ukraine, European security
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Swedish Muslims challenge far right ahead of key election this weekend
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Germany needs to ‘show we have learned our lesson’ from Weimar Republic, foreign minister says
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‘We cannot be naive’ about the threat posed by Russia, Nato’s Rutte says
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Nato’s Europeans ‘increasingly understand taking greater responsibility for our own security is not optional,’ Rutte says
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Russia’s actions are ‘reckless, dangerous and a threat to life,’ Nato’s Rutte warns, but says they only strengthen resolve to help Ukraine
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Russian threat ‘has reached our doorstep,’ German foreign minister says
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Russia’s reckless actions ‘a sign of weakness and a symptom of its failure to get its way in Ukraine’, Nato’s Rutte says
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‘We should have no illusions’ about threats posed by Russia, Germany’s Wadephul says
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‘Strength today is no guarantee of leadership tomorrow,’ EU’s von der Leyen says as she pledges to work on space economy
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Macron wants Europe to develop its own crewed spaceflight capability
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Russia arrests British embassy security guard for alleged false flag plot
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Nato allies foiled Russian subsea cable sabotage plot, Reuters says
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Morning opening: Russian attacks continue as Zelenskyy continues diplomacy tour
Poland issues third security alert to residents in areas bordering Ukraine in one day
Poland has warned residents in two south-eastern regions that its air force is monitoring the skies amid ongoing Russian attacks on neighbouring Ukraine.
Locals have received three similar alerts in the past 12 hours – a stark indicator of the intensity of Russia’s attacks and the heightened concern across the border.
Malta warned of corruption crisis after Daphne Caruana Galizia verdict sends ‘chill down the spine’
Juliette Garside
Malta is vulnerable to “repeated instances of high-level corruption” unless it strengthens the rule of law and protections for journalists, the Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti said at the opening of an inquiry into judicial failures following the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Chakrabarti, a member of the House of Lords and former director of the human rights group Liberty, has been named special rapporteur for a Council of Europe investigation into the fallout from the assassination of the anti-corruption journalist, who died in a car bombing in October 2017.
Malta is in turmoil after the acquittal of a wealthy and politically influential businessman, Yorgen Fenech, of any involvement in Caruana Galizia’s murder. Fenech denies paying a middleman €150,000 to have her killed.
At the inquiry’s first hearing, on Wednesday, Chakrabarti said the verdict had “staggered many throughout Maltese society and beyond.”
“It’s now almost nine years since the assassination that struck at the very heart of Maltese public life but a mastermind has not yet been held accountable,” she added.
Macron meets Stubb for talks on Ukraine, European security
Over in France, it looks like Emmanuel Macron is focusing not only on future space endeavours, but also on very down-to-earth issues of European security.
Aside from his space conference (11:01), he met for talks with Finland’s influential president Alexander Stubb on “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, European security, and ways to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy.”
“Finland and France are closer than ever before. France is an important partner for Ukraine and the whole of Europe,” Stubb said.
Despite its low-key format, the meeting is worth noting given Stubb’s central role to all diplomatic efforts on Ukraine, as he is one of the few European leaders that have a genuinely good rapport with the US president, Donald Trump, and so is closely involved in all relevant discussions on Ukraine, Russia and European security.
Jakub Krupa
By the way, we will be liveblogging the Swedish election night for you here on Europe Live, straight from Stockholm, so make sure to join us on Sunday night.
Swedish Muslims challenge far right ahead of key election this weekend
Swedes will vote on Sunday in a tight election that will be another litmus test of whether far-right parties should join the government, as the Sweden Democrats, with roots in the neo-Nazi fringe, poll at around 19% of the vote and could join the ruling centre-right coalition led by Ulf Kristersson.
The Guardian’s Ashifa Kassam visited Sweden recently to take stock of the atmosphere in the country ahead of the vote, and look at how migration and religion are being weaponised for political purposes.
“Not far from one of Scandinavia’s biggest shopping malls, Kashif Virk stood on the pavement, handing out flyers and smiling at those who passed by. On a cloudy Tuesday afternoon, the Swedish-born imam had taken to the street to invite people to ask him anything they had ever wanted to know about Islam.
For years, Sweden’s far right has peddled its own, distorted view of Islam, portraying it as being at odds with Swedish values. The Ask-a-Muslim – or Fråga en Muslim – campaign, conceived by Virk in 2017, was his way of fighting back.”
Rutte’s visit is not the only show in town in Berlin today, as the leader of the United Arab Emirates is paying a state visit to Germany, and is expected to sign off on multi-billion deals on energy, technology, and transport.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is getting the full treatment and was welcomed with military honours by president Frank-Walter Steinmeier this morning, before meeting chancellor Friedrich Merz later today.
AFP noted that the UAE is Germany’s largest trading partner in the Gulf, with bilateral trade topping $15bn last year, and many big German companies have a presence there including BMW, Siemens, ThyssenKrupp and rail operator Deutsche Bahn.
The UAE meanwhile has made major investments in Germany, including in the chemical industry and offshore wind power.
Inexplicably, there is no joint press conference scheduled as part of the visit.
Jakub Krupa
And as I was typing that last update, Rutte and Wadephul have wrapped up their session after a very short discussion on Iran and the strait of Hormuz.
That ends the event in Berlin.
Just as Rutte and Wadephul talk about the role played by the US in today’s Nato, German chancellor Friedrich Merz gets in early with his comments on tomorrow’s 9/11 anniversary in the US.
In a post on social media, he says:
“That the 25th anniversary of 9/11 is approaching soon touches us deeply. We Germans felt back then just how much connects us with our American friends. We knew: the terrorist attacks were also aimed at our way of life.
Germany is also today determined, together with the USA, to stand up for the values that define and unite us: freedom, democracy, and respect.
But that doesn’t change the underlying tensions between the administrations in Germany and the US – after all, only yesterday Merz cancelled his planned phone call with Trump, with media speculating about a possible link with the US president’s public show of support for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (Europe Live, Wednesday).
Wadephul and Rutte get asked if they are sure the US would still defend Europe.
Rutte says “absolutely” and that he has “no doubt.”
He then goes on his usual spiel about “a big irritant” in the US’s relationship with Nato on spending, and how it needs to be resolved and how Europe is “finally addressing it.”
He says there are sometimes some answers or social media posts that “are hard to understand” – a likely swipe at Trump’s recent comments on the AfD’s win in Saxony-Anhalt – but generally “we really have no doubt that the United States are ready to defend us and will be staying with us.”
Germany needs to ‘show we have learned our lesson’ from Weimar Republic, foreign minister says
Wadephul also makes a very strong point there, as he says:
“We have to defend our democracy. And, Germany knows from the Weimar Republic, what could happen if Democrats are not ready to defend their system? And now I think we have to show that we have learned our lesson.”
Wadephul gets asked about how to convince the electorate to spend more on defence, also in the context of the UK government’s internal discussions on that point.
He says you need to speak with the electorate and explain that Nato and supporting Ukraine “has the purpose of securing our freedom and security in Europe.”
He says “that is what Andy Burnham is also doing in the UK, as far as I ma able to follow it from here.”
When he eventually gets round to the question, Rutte says, erm, it’s not for him to comment on party politics.
“We have an alliance of 32 countries and whoever is elected is then the elected leadership of that country,” he says.
He acknowledges that politics is “rough” and “a contact sport,” but eventually does not address the underlying point anyway.
He gets pressed on that further, with a specific reference to France and Germany, and what would it mean for the alliance if far-right parties won power there.
But once again seeks to evade the question, as he effectivelly says “let’s see what happens.”
“I have every confidence that whoever is elected in whichever election will stay the course when it comes to the key elements of investing in defence, making sure Ukraine will not lose this war.”
Wadephul goes back to the Leipzig drone attack, stressing its hybrid character: both in terms of actual, physical damage, but also in terms of its influence on “hurting … social coherence in Germany” and potentially influencing regional elections in Germany.
He says “we have to be prepared for that, and we have to stand together” in a show of resilience against radical forces within the country.
Rutte doesn’t immediately answer a question on whether he is concerned by the rising support for far-right parties, but instead repeatedly praises Germany for its response to the Leipzig incident.
‘We cannot be naive’ about the threat posed by Russia, Nato’s Rutte says
Wadephul talks about his recent experience of visiting Ukraine, and seeing “raid alerts not only by night, but also the whole day over.”
But he says, despite that, you could see high spirits from the Ukrainians who are ready to defiantly keep defending their country.
Rutte says Russia remains to pose long-term threat to Europe, with its entire economy focused on defence and war preparations.
He says “we cannot be naive” about Russia in what feels like a bit of a swipe at suggestions of peace talks with Moscow as he has no illusions:
“I know you will always have people telling you: oh, if you would only sit down with Putin and this and that… This is long-term. It is a threat. We cannot be naive.”
Nato’s Europeans ‘increasingly understand taking greater responsibility for our own security is not optional,’ Rutte says
Rutte says “there was a belief that we could continue doing more with less, and that the United States would keep doing the heavy lifting for us,” but this has changed in the last few years.
“I see a real mindset shift. Europeans increasingly understand that taking greater responsibility for our own security is not optional. That rebuilding our armed forces is indeed essential … increasing our defence industrial base is not only good for our security, it is good for our economies too. And that security is not something the US should do for us, but with us.”
And we go into Q&A.
Russia’s actions are ‘reckless, dangerous and a threat to life,’ Nato’s Rutte warns, but says they only strengthen resolve to help Ukraine
In his speech, Rutte repeatedly praises Germany’s role within Nato, and then eventually gets to his stark assessment of the situation in Ukraine – and Europe.
He says:
“Russia’s brutal attacks against Ukraine are unrelenting. Russia is suffering enormous losses, now estimated at more than 40,000 killed or seriously wounded every month. Think about it for a moment. Over 40,000 every month.
Despite those heavy losses, Putin shows no willingness to bring the war to an end.
Instead, Russia repeatedly strikes Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, often targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and at the same time, the list of Russia’s malign hybrid activities across Europe grows longer and longer: cyber-attacks, sabotage, arson, airspace violations, drone incidents.
…
The latest hostile actions by Russia are reckless, dangerous and a threat to life. But we are not intimidated. We know these are the tactics of a desperate regime that is failing to meet its objectives in Ukraine. Putin thinks he can divide us, destabilise us and weaken our support for Ukraine. But he will fail. These malicious actions are having the opposite effect.”
