Russia unable to win arms race with Europe - Tusk

This was stated by the head of the Polish government, Donald Tusk, who spoke with Polish journalists ahead of the special European Council in Brussels on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As Tusk noted, the war in Ukraine, as well as the shift in U.S. policy and the arms race on the part of Russia, pose "new challenges" to Europe, to which Europe must react.

He expressed his belief that Russia "will lose this arms race with Europe, just as the USSR lost the arms race to the West 40 years ago."

Tusk emphasized that now is "the moment of truth," when Europe must assume greater responsibility for its security.

According to the prime minister, Europe as a single community can prevail in any confrontation with Russia, in particular in the financial, economic, and military fields, since the EU is stronger.

“We just have to start believing in it, and today it is happening,” the Polish Prime Minister stated.

Responding to a question about France’s readiness to deploy a “nuclear umbrella” over Europe, he noted that this proposal is not new as he had already heard it from President Emmanuel Macron.

“This needs to be explored. Now all the defense capabilities of each state must become elements of a common whole,” the Polish Prime Minister emphasized.

Tusk also expressed the opinion that Hungary and Slovakia may express a different view of the security situation in Europe and assistance to Ukraine. In this context, he emphasized that European leaders “will seek solutions that will guarantee the implementation of the set targets even if Hungary does not contribute to this end.” He noted that there have been such attempts in the past, but "the unwillingness of one country was not able to block joint decisions".

The head of the Polish government assured that a concrete decision of the summit should be the allocation of EUR 150 billion for armaments and security, in particular funds for the "Shield East" project to protect Poland's eastern border from Belarus and Russia.

As reported, the EU, with the help of the ReArm Europe loan program worth EUR 800 billion, will be able to rearm Europe and arm Ukraine in its existential struggle against Russian aggression.

Photo: European Union