NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the Russian strike on a passenger train near Ukraine’s border with Poland would not make Western partners abandon their support for Kyiv. The response to such attacks should be increased assistance to Ukraine.
This was reported by The Guardian.
Rutte said the strike on the passenger train was a sign of Vladimir Putin’s desperation.
“He thinks that he can stop us from supporting Ukraine and undermine our unity. He is wrong. Our answer is to increase support,” the NATO chief said.
European leaders also condemned the Russian drone strike on a passenger train near the Polish border on September 13.
According to Ukrzaliznytsia, shortly before the attack another train passed through the border crossing carrying former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former CIA Director David Petraeus, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, and several security advisers from European countries.
That train was running ahead of schedule. Ukrzaliznytsia said it may have been the target of the Russian strike.
A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the attack “a futile attempt by Russia to undermine our support for Ukraine” and said it would not make London abandon its assistance.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the purpose of such attacks was “to intimidate Europeans, discourage them and, above all, divide them.”
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas called the strike “a clear message to the Western world.”
“We must show that we are there for Ukraine and that we are not intimidated, because otherwise Russia will simply achieve what it wants — the submission of Ukraine,” Kallas said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia could significantly intensify its actions in the coming weeks and months. According to him, Poland cannot rule out that this escalation will also affect its territory.
