A "
war crime
", "
atrocities
", an attempt
to "stun
" to terrorize civilian populations, "
unprecedented brutality
"... In the aftermath of the deadly Russian strike that hit a shopping center in Kremenchuk, Western leaders expressed their indignation in turn in Elmau, Germany, at the end of the G7 meeting, before going to Madrid for a NATO summit.
"
Russia cannot and must not win the war
," insisted Head of State Emmanuel Macron in Bavaria, forgetting, for a moment at least, his desire to maintain a window of dialogue with Vladimir Putin.
"
We must be united in Madrid, united in support for Ukraine, united in our firmness, united in the defense and security of the eastern flank of our Alliance
", he insisted while in Germany, the seven leaders of the richest countries have decided to hit the Russian economy by "
working
" on a cap on the price of Russian oil and by imposing restrictions on the import of Russian gold.
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Turkey lifts its veto on a candidacy of Sweden and Finland to NATO
More than four months after the start of the conflict and while NATO is also preparing to draw the consequences, the autocrat has chosen intimidation and provocation.
While the Ukrainians mourned their dead, Lithuania, a member of NATO, was the target of a cyberattack in response to the sanctions imposed on the enclave of Kaliningrad.
“
It's not the first.
We have experienced many others since February 24,
” commented Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Baltic counterparts on Monday.
For us, Crimea is a part of Russia.
Which means she is forever
Dmitry Medvedev, former president and close to Putin.
In this context of threats, the Kremlin affirmed its determination to carry out the war until its end.
The conflict will end when Ukraine has "
laid down its arms
" and implemented "
all the conditions set by Russia
", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
At the same time, Dmitry Medvedev, former president and close to Putin, was belligerent: if Crimea is attacked by a NATO member country, “
it will be the third world war
”, he warned.
“
For us, Crimea is a part of Russia.
Which means she is forever
,” he said.
See also
Spain calls on NATO to better respond to threats to the African "southern flank"
In Spain, the war is far away.
Torn, the ruling coalition delivers few weapons to Ukraine and devotes only one percent of its GDP to its defense, at the back of the pack.
But with the NATO summit, which opened Tuesday evening with a dinner with the King of Spain, Felipe VI, the Alliance is preparing to write down in black and white in its new Strategic Concept that Russia constitutes a direct threat to its safety.
The main military nations of the Alliance should announce “
an extra effort
”, assures an American diplomat;
"
and even France
".
"
We are a reliable ally
", we insist at the Elysée.
Winning the Unity Bet
The United States should confirm on Wednesday "
new military commitments
(Americans in Europe, editor's note)
on land, at sea and in the air in the long term
".
For his part, Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured in an interview with ARD that the Bundeswehr would become "
the largest conventional army
" in Europe.
“
This is important for NATO's defense capability as a whole
,” he said.
But it will not be these abilities that will fight.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calls again and again for weapons.
It thus urges its Western partners to provide in particular anti-missile defense systems.
NATO is examining ways to replace the capabilities that member states would deliver to Ukraine.
Westerners will have to win the bet of unity.
Moscow is banking on the erosion and weariness of democracies in the medium term to weaken Ukraine
To overcome the test of firmness, Westerners will have to win the challenge of unity.
Moscow, for its part, is betting on the erosion and weariness of democracies in the medium term to weaken Ukraine.
The Madrid summit, which was to be crowned by the historic welcome of Finland and Sweden, candidates for membership, risks being the scene of a deadlock between Turkey and the rest of its partners.
On Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, whose one-vote majority is a female MP of Kurdish origin.
The Turkish head of state calls for security guarantees and Sweden's designation of the PKK as a terrorist organization.
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NATO Summit: the United States reconnects with its role of protector of Europe
But he can also seek to obtain other gestures from his allies, on the F-35 aircraft program blocked after the decision to buy Russian S400 defense systems or on the tacit agreement to carry out a military operation in Syria and set up the buffer zone there in Kurdistan.
The US president and the Turkish president are due to meet on the sidelines of the summit on Wednesday.
The French president will also meet with his Turkish counterpart.
