Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin is in the same position as Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in 1943 – when he already lost the war, but it was far from over.
“Russia is now a total pariah internationally. The sanctions bite hard – dare I say that. The war costs a lot of money. And Putin has already lost. He was mistaken about the resistance of the Ukrainians. That’s because no one dares tell him the whole truth anymore, including about the state of his army, which was cannibalized by corrupt officers.
But Hitler had already lost the war at the end of 1943, and it lasted another two years. Putin can cause a lot of mess for a very long time. Hence the bombing of the energy infrastructure, with the aim of plunging people into such misery that millions come to Europe. He uses energy and migration as a weapon against us, because he knows that we are vulnerable on those two points and can be played apart, in the hope that the political forces in which he has invested for years will gain more political power in the member states,” he said, speaking to Nieuwsblad.
Mr. Timmermans also told what is needed to defeat Russia: as Putin invaded Ukraine after the EU’s weak reaction to the occupation of Crimea the only way to go is to keep strong and support Ukraine:
“The only thing that will lead to a change of course in Moscow is the realization that the West is not giving up – no matter what it is doing on the ground. Once Putin and Lavrov start to think that there are cracks in the front, they can hold on even longer. We must keep ranks closed, form a front with the Americans and continue to support Ukraine financially and militarily. And if more refugees arrive, we have to receive them properly again. So far I don’t see any cracks. Even Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban now joins financial support for Ukraine.”
