Putin’s plans fail so he must stop war against Ukraine - Borrell

This was stated today in Versailles before the informal meeting of EU leaders by EU High Representative Josep Borrell, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The statement was released on the EU multimedia portal.

"Don’t try to drive a wedge. We are more united than ever. I have never seen member states being so united and together with our transatlantic partners. Putin believed he was going to conquer Ukraine, he failed. He believed he was going to divide us, he failed, he thought he would weaken the transatlantic relationship, he failed. Now he has to stop the war," said Joseph Borrell.

He reminded that Russia had launched a war of aggression against Ukraine without any reason. Nowadays, everyone can see what is happening from the TV screens. Russians are massively and indiscriminately bombing Ukrainian cities, killing hundreds of civilians and displacing two million refugees.

"Is it our fault? Two million refugees… No. "Russia is waging war the way they did in Syria, the way they did in Chechnya, bombing and destroying the country," the EU High Representative said.

He noted that today the leaders of the European Union will work in two main directions. The first concerns continuing pressure on Russia “to stop this crazy war” and the “killing of civilians” – through diplomatic means and sanctions. The second direction of ​​discussion is to identify ways to increase the resilience of the European Union, in particular by reducing its energy dependency and developing its defense capabilities. In this context, the heads of state and government will discuss efforts to build a strong economic framework to meet the challenges Russia is posing today.

Josep Borrell answered journalists' questions about whether the EU would feel safer without Russian gas.

"We will be much safer. We need to use less gas, use less gas - this is what the climate demands of us. In this case, geopolitics and climate go hand in hand, "the EU High Representative added.

A two-day informal meeting of EU heads of state and government is set to begin today in Versailles, France.

One of the issues of the meeting may be consideration of Ukraine's application for membership in the European Union.

On February 24, Russian President Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure, hitting households.

Martial law was imposed in Ukraine and general mobilization was announced.

Ukraine has officially filed a lawsuit against the Russian Federation with the UN International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The European Union has imposed a powerful package of sanctions against Russia as an aggressor state, whose international isolation is growing by the day. The International Criminal Court has begun documenting and investigating Russia's war crimes in Ukraine.