Supporting Ukraine: Calls for Stronger Western Backing Against Russia

2024-01-03 11:10:51

The head of Dutch Defense, Onno Eichelsheim, said Wednesday in the newspaper NRC that it was important to provide Ukraine with “many more long-range weapons”. A call followed by the new head of Polish diplomacy.

According to General Eichelsheim, the West and Europe must continue to support Ukraine so that it at least maintains its current defenses. This would involve providing conventional resources such as ammunition and providing training, he adds.

The head of Dutch Defense also suggests ultimately strengthening Ukrainian air defenses “by providing weapon systems that make it possible to attack warehouses and supply lines behind the front in Russia”. “This is already the case, but the number of long-range weapons must be significantly increased, otherwise they will always lag behind,” he says.

General Eichelsheim says that currently both sides are not making progress on the front, but that Russia assumes that Western support for Ukraine will weaken as the war continues.

He also recalls that despite the victory of the far-right PVV party in the elections, he does not fear that the Netherlands’ support will change radically, explaining that there are always compromises in decisions. “It’s never really the left, it’s never the right, it’s always a bit of a middle ground,” he says.

Responding to Russia “in language Putin understands”

Going in the same direction as General Eichelsheim, the new head of Polish diplomacy calls on the Western world to equip Ukraine with long-range missiles. “We should respond to the latest assault on Ukraine in language that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin understands: by strengthening sanctions so that he cannot make new weapons with contraband components and by giving Kiev long-range missiles which will allow it to eliminate Russian launch sites and command centers, writes Radoslaw Sikorski on X (formerly Twitter), in English.

Radosław Sikorski ???????????????? @sikorskiradek

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In office since mid-December, within the new pro-European Polish government, Mr. Sikorski went just before Christmas for his first trip abroad to the Ukrainian ally in order to notify him of the continued support of the Poland against Moscow. On this occasion, he called on the European Union and the United States to “mobilize” their economy and their means of production to arm Ukraine.