Ukraine expects decisions from Brussels NOT only political messaging, political signals etc!

Well, we expect decisions. There are plenty of decisions that the European Union can make now to send clear messages to Russia that its escalation will not be tolerated and Ukraine will not be left on its own. This includes not only political messaging, political signals, but also some very specific acts like: supporting the development of our defence sector; supporting Ukraine's cyber security; imposing some of the sanctions. This is the message that I will convey to my colleagues today: that we believe that there are good reasons, good and legitimate reasons, to impose at least some of the sanctions now to demonstrate that the European Union is not only talking the talk about sanctions, but also is walking the walk. Do you think a hybrid-attack has already started? The attack on Ukraine started in 2014 and what we've seen recently is done by Russia to escalate the situation in a hybrid way. We see disinformation campaigns. We see cyber-attacks. We see open fakes distributed about Ukraine and we see increased military activity. What are you hoping to get out of the Biden Putin Summit? Tonight I spoke with Secretary Blinken, around two o'clock in the morning Brussels time, and he briefed me about the initiative to hold the summit between President Biden and President Putin. We welcome this initiative. We believe that every effort aimed at diplomatic solution is worth trying. Secretary Blinken assured me that, as it has been the case until now, no decisions about Ukraine will be taken behind Ukraine's back. And we will closely coordinate with him and the EU, as they will be preparing this summit, to synchronise our positions and to make sure that our interests will be taken into account. We hope, of course, as human beings, as someone who desperately wants to avoid the war, we hope that 2 presidents will walk out from the room with an agreement about Russia withdrawing its forces from Ukraine. This will be the clear indicator that Russia is ready to escalate. If this doesn't happen, it means that we remain in the same escalating logic by Russia. Thank you. https://eudebates.tv/ #eudebates The European Union will not impose sanctions on Russia just yet, its foreign policy chief said on Monday, rebuffing a call from Kyiv to take such steps now to avert a war rather than wait until after any possible Russian invasion. Western countries fear a build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine in recent weeks is a prelude to an invasion, which Moscow denies. The United States and European allies have said any attack would trigger severe sanctions against Moscow, but Kyiv wants these to be imposed now. However, both Washington and Moscow played down hopes of a breakthrough, and satellite imagery appeared to show Russian deployments closer to Ukraine's border than before. Western countries accuse Russia of planning an invasion of its neighbour. Moscow denies planning any attack but has demanded security guarantees including a promise that Ukraine would never join #NATO. Nerves were further frayed when the Belarusian defence ministry announced on Sunday that Russia would extend military drills in #Belarus that had been due to end. Russia has tens of thousands of troops there, north of the Ukrainian border. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry #Peskov told reporters that a phone call or meeting between Putin and Biden could be set up at any time, but there were no concrete plans yet for a summit. Tensions were growing, but diplomatic contacts were active and a meeting of foreign ministers was possible this week. He also said Putin would imminently address an extraordinary session of Russia's Security Council. The White House said in a statement that #Biden had accepted the meeting "in principle" but only "if an invasion hasn't happened". "We are always ready for diplomacy," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. "We are also ready to impose swift and severe consequences, should Russia instead choose war." Western countries are preparing sanctions they say would be far-reaching against Russian companies and individuals in the event that Russia invades, including steps to bar U.S. financial institutions from processing transactions for major Russian banks, people familiar with the matter said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro #Kuleba, arriving in #Brussels to meet his European Union counterparts, urged the bloc to start imposing some sanctions on #Russia now to show it was serious about wanting to prevent a war. The West has so far rebuffed Kyiv's calls to impose tighter sanctions now, arguing that to work as a deterrent they must be saved as a potential punishment if Russia invades. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he still saw room for diplomacy, but would convene an extraordinary EU meeting to agree sanctions "when the moment comes".