MEP Gahler: It is more profitable for EU to allow strikes deep into Russia than to constantly saturate Ukrainian air defense
It is more profitable for European countries to allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to strike at military targets deep into Russia than to constantly provide Ukraine with air defence systems to repel massive Russian attacks.
This opinion was expressed by German MEP Michael Gahler during the International Conference "Pan-European Idea for Victory and Peace in Ukraine", which took place in Chernivtsi on 11-12 October, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform.
"As for the provision of weapons to Ukraine, we are currently dissatisfied with the level of such support from the EU countries. We are disappointed that there are still restrictions on the use of weapons provided to Ukraine on the territory of the Russian Federation. Therefore, for us it is much more logical that Ukraine should be able to carry out long-range strikes on Russian military targets rather than deplete its air defence systems, and we continue to provide it with more and more of these systems. It is better to let Ukraine strike deep into Russia," the MEP said.
He noted that he has been working in the European Parliament for more than 25 years and has always supported Ukraine's sovereignty and democratic processes.
In particular, after Russia's occupation of Crimea and the start of its military operations in Luhansk and Donetsk, MEPs took a clear position and have been advocating for sanctions against Russia ever since. And when Ukraine signed the Association Agreement, they helped to implement all the reforms to make the country move further towards Europe, the MEP said.
"We also continued to support Ukraine's European course after President Zelenskyy came to power. At the same time, the European Parliament has been talking about Russia's intentions to invade Ukraine since 2021, and we have been warning about the danger. We promoted the idea of introducing pre-emptive sanctions against Russia and providing military assistance to Ukraine. And after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, we all insisted on Ukraine's full membership in the European Union, and thus the decision on Ukraine's EU candidacy is now in place," Michael Gahler added.
According to him, despite the presence of pro-Russian forces in Western Europe, most European politicians are aware that Ukraine is currently fighting a struggle between dictatorship and freedom, between violence and peace.
"And the struggle is taking place not only in Ukraine, but throughout Europe. Unfortunately, Ukraine is on the front lines of this struggle. We also suffer from cyber attacks and propaganda in the news and social media. In addition to helping Ukraine, we need to strengthen our own population. And this requires political leadership, which is currently lacking," said the German MEP.
On 11 and 12 October, Chernivtsi hosted the International Conference "Pan-European Idea for Victory and Peace in Ukraine". It was attended by members of the European Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, representatives of international organisations, public figures, politicians, diplomats, experts, teachers and students, local officials and deputies.
During the conference, participants discussed key issues of support for Ukraine and European integration in the context of the war.
