American billionaire George Soros warned on Tuesday that civilization “might not survive” the war in Ukraine, But he considered that Europe might be in “a stronger position” than he thinks in relation to Russian gas.
“The invasion (of Ukraine by Russia) may have been the start of World War III and our civilization may not survive”he said in a speech at the dinner he traditionally organizes in Davos (Switzerland), on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting.
“The best and only way to preserve our civilization is to defeat (Russian President Vladimir) Putin as soon as possible,” insisted Soros, a Hungarian-born American investor and philanthropist.
The European Union is having difficulty agreeing on a new package of sanctions once morest Russia, mainly because its Member States are highly dependent on Russian hydrocarbons for their energy supply.
“I think that Putin is very smart and is doing a kind of blackmail to Europe by threatening to cut off the gas. But in reality his case is not as strong as he pretends,” Soros said.
He argued that Russia deliberately created a shortage situation last winter by storing its gas instead of sending it to Europe, which pushed prices up, but also filled their tanks, which will be “full by July.”
The Russian president “is in a crisis, and one way or another managed to terrorize Europe.” Now “He is in a tense situation. It has to do something with this gas, and the only place that can absorb it, because there are gas pipelines, is Europe”argued the billionaire.
Soros said he had explained this in a letter to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, to which he said he had not yet received a reply.
In addition, he especially blamed the policy of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for Europe’s continued “excessive” dependence on Russian hydrocarbons.
Finally, Soros called Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping “the two dictators.”
Situation in Ukraine
Russia on Tuesday intensified its military offensive once morest the last pockets of resistance in eastern Ukraine. and she said she was determined to achieve all her “objectives”, without time limits, in the war that entered its fourth month.
Russian troops are currently focusing their attack on Lugansk, in the Donbas mining basin, where the situation “is getting worse by the hour”declared the regional governor, Sergei Gaidai.
As part of the encirclement maneuver, they try to surround the towns of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, located regarding 100 km from Lugansk.
Severodonetsk is bombed “24 hours a day” by the Russians, who “use the scorched earth tactic”, Gaidai previously stated.
The separatist leader of Donetsk (another region of the Donbas basin) assured that the Russian troops and the Pro-Russian “popular militias” had entered Limán and were trying to gain total control of that town, located 60 km from Severodonetsk.
The Donbas basin has been partially controlled since 2014 by pro-Russian separatists.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that Moscow “it will continue with the special military operation until all its objectives are met, regardless of the enormous Western aid to the kyiv regime or the unprecedented pressure of sanctions” applied once morest Russia.
The secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, indicated that the military operations will last as long as necessary. “We are not in a hurry to meet a deadline,” he said.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, with the stated goals of “denazifying” Ukraine, defending Russian-speaking populations and preventing the former Soviet republic from joining NATO.
*With information from AFP.
