European Parliament names political leaders who are problematic for Ukraine

Member of the European Parliament, Viola von Cramon-Taubadel (Vitalii Nosach RBC-Ukraine)

Support for Ukraine within the European Union is contingent upon the leadership of individual nations. While some leaders continue to offer assistance to Ukraine, others may be influenced by domestic politics or Russian rhetoric, according to Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, a member of the European Parliament.

“It very much depends on the leadership. So in some countries where we have strong leadership, favor of Ukraine, and not just lip service, I see that there is also the majority of the public behind that,” she said.

At the same time, the Member of the European Parliament noted that there are other situations in which politicians rely on the amount of assistance already provided and the public opinion of their own country.

“But I mean if you have a leader who tells you: yes we already do a lot and we have our own problems – how can the public be on the other side and say: we need to put all the resources we have at the moment for our security but also for Ukraine security. That’s not easy at the moment,” Cramon-Taubadel said.

She pointed out that several political leaders of countries espousing Russian rhetoric are a problem, but they are not in the majority.

“Hungary is a spoiler. Slovakia is very much a spoiler. Fico now uses a lot of pro-Russian rhetoric. He blames Ukraine for beginning the war and so on. It’s clearly the Kremlin narrative. But the majority I would say is still in favor and support of Ukraine,” she said.

EU support for Ukraine

The majority of European Union countries support Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression, providing military, material, and humanitarian assistance.

It was announced yesterday that Germany will be able to transfer 10,000 artillery ammunition to Ukraine in the coming days, which was previously announced as part of the military aid package.

Additionally, Czechia actively participates in supplying ammunition to Ukraine.

Indeed, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said that Ukrainian military personnel could receive twice as much ammunition as part of Czechia’s initiative, with a possibility of supplying 1.5 million artillery rounds.

Also, the Lithuanian parliament recently approved amendments allowing the purchase of drones with Chinese components and their transfer to Ukraine.