KYIV: The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Monday that Russia was “gambling with war,” after a spate of Russian drones and military jets crossing into the bloc’s airspace.
NATO has boosted its defenses along its eastern borders as it accused Moscow of testing the alliance’s air defenses with drone incursions into several members and by flying military jets in Estonian airspace.
“Every time a Russian drone or plane violates our airspace, there is a risk of escalation, unintended or not. Russia is gambling with war,” Kallas said during a visit to Kyiv.
“To keep war at bay, we must translate the economic power of Europe into military deterrence,” she added.
Kallas was in Kyiv for talks on military and financial support for Ukraine, and especially its energy infrastructure, as Russia has resumed attacks on power plants ahead of winter.
Ukraine on Monday was forced to introduce power cuts across seven central and eastern regions as a result of the attacks, which Kyiv has called “cynical.”
“The enemy wants to affect the spirit and mood of our population,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said during a joint press conference with Kallas.
“This is especially cynical on the eve of winter,” he added.
Ukraine retaliates by targeting Russian oil refineries, aiming to hamper funding of its war machine.
It has launched more than 30 strikes on Russian energy sites since the beginning of August, also triggering a spike in petrol prices inside Russia.
An oil depot was struck overnight in Russian-occupied Crimea, sparking a large fire, according to the region’s Moscow-installed governor and a source in Ukraine’s security services.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone struck a car carrying a married couple in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing them both, local authorities said.
Kallas also indicated that Brussels backed the delivery of US long-range Tomahawk missile supplies to Ukraine.
“We welcome all tools that make Ukraine stronger and Russia weaker,” she said.
US President Donald Trump said Sunday he may warn Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Ukraine could get the cruise missiles if Moscow does not end its invasion.
Moscow has warned against supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks, saying it would be a major escalation.
EU says Russia ‘gambling with war’ with airspace violations
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EU says Russia ‘gambling with war’ with airspace violations
- NATO has boosted its defenses along its eastern borders as it accused Moscow of testing the alliance’s air defenses with drone incursions into several members and by flying military jets in Estonian airspace
- Ukraine on Monday was forced to introduce power cuts across seven central and eastern regions as a result of the attacks, which Kyiv has called “cynical”
Greek coast guard search for 15 after migrant boat found adrift
- The two survivors reported that the vessel had become unstable due to bad weather and there was no means of getting shelter, food or water
ATHENS: Greek coast guard were on Monday searching for 15 people who fell into the water from a migrant boat that was found drifting off the coast of Crete with 17 bodies on board.
The 17 fatalities, all of them men, were discovered on Saturday on the craft, which was taking on water and partially deflated, some 26 nautical miles (48 kilometers) southwest of the island.
Post-mortem examinations were being carried out to determine how they died but Greek public television channel ERT suggested they may have suffered from hypothermia or dehydration.
A Greek coast guard spokeswoman told AFP that two survivors reported that “15 people fell in the water” after the motor cut out on Thursday, then the vessel drifted for two days.
At the time, Crete and much of the rest of Greece was battered by heavy rain and storms.
The two survivors reported that the vessel had become unstable due to bad weather and there was no means of getting shelter, food or water.
The vessel had 34 people on board and had left the Libyan port of Tobruk on Wednesday, the Greek port authorities said. Most of those who died came from Sudan and Egypt.
It was initially spotted by a Turkish-flagged cargo ship on Saturday, triggering a search that included ships and aircraft from the Greek coast guard and the European Union border agency Frontex.
Migrants have been trying to reach Crete from Libya for the last year, as a way of entering the European Union. But the Mediterranean crossing is perilous.
In Brussels, the EU’s 27 members on Monday backed a significant tightening of immigration policy, including the concept of returning failed asylum-seekers to “return hubs” outside the bloc.
The UN refugee agency said more than 16,770 asylum seekers in the EU have arrived on Crete since the start of the year — more than any other island in the Aegean Sea.
Greece’s conservative government has also toughened its migration policy, suspending asylum claims for three months, particularly those coming to Crete from Libya.
