Ukraine needs urgent assistance in the war unleashed by Russia, and while the European Union lags behind the United States in terms of military aid, it could be doing far more to deprive the aggressor of sources of funding, according to Kurt Volker, a distinguished fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations.
"What Europe could really do is make every effort to try to deprive Russia of sources of funding," he said at the "Ukraine as Europe’s Stress Test" discussion panel at the European Forum in Alpbach on Monday, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.
Volker noted that Russia can still sell oil and gas to Europe, and that such sales will only end at the end of next year. In addition, Russia can receive payments through the international financial system for the sale of oil and gas.
"There are many third parties outside the US and Europe who are willing to do business with Russia. We need to make it clear to them that they cannot do that and do business with Europe," the former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations said.
"There should be a sense of urgency. There isn’t one, and that effectively means we’re on a train together that’s speeding not toward victory, but toward another option, which is subjugation. And China is watching. Russia is watching, and other potential players are watching," said Yevhen Hlibovytsky, co-founder and CEO of the Frontier Institute, describing the situation.
Volker also agreed with his Ukrainian colleague’s view that Europeans need to change their mentality.
"It all starts with mentality. There needs to be a mentality that Russia needs to be stopped… It’s not enough to say we should help Ukraine, provide assistance, or something like that. This won’t end until Russia is stopped," he explained his view.
According to him, such a change in mentality would also lead to changes in terms of concrete actions - for example, in the military approach, this means providing Taurus missiles and other long-range systems.
The CEPA fellow added that Europe also underestimates the urgency of changes in military approaches - for example, it is rolling out drone technology more slowly than the US, although the US pace in this area is also insufficient.
In Volker’s view, Europe’s position is stronger than that of the US when it comes to motivation and understanding that Ukraine is waging a fundamental fight for freedom against authoritarianism.
"They (the US) perceive this war against Ukraine incorrectly. I’m not sure the American people or Congress do, but the current administration certainly does. They don’t view it in the context of values, so they don’t see it as an attack on us. They view it as a fight between two sides," the former special representative for Ukraine negotiations said.
According to him, as a result, there is no particular sense of urgency from the US administration regarding support for Ukraine or ending the war, and the discussion instead centers on selling American weapons.
