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.
“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.”
Source: www.theguardian.com
