Borrell warns Putin that if he uses nuclear weapons against Ukraine his army will be “annihilated”

Until now, the leaders of the EU, the United States and NATO have warned Vladimir Putin of “serious consequences” if it uses nuclear weapons against Ukraine, as it has threatened. But no Western leader in power had wanted to spell out exactly what those “consequences” would be.

The first to put it into words was the European High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Joseph Borrell: Western bloc retaliation would be the “annihilation” of the Russian armyusing conventional weapons.

“We have the nuclear threat. Putin says he’s not bluffing. He can’t afford to bluff. And it has to be clear that those of us who support Ukraine – the EU, the Member States, the United States and NATO – are not bluffing eitherBorrell said in the opening speech of the European Diplomatic Academy in Bruges.

[La OTAN avisa a Putin de “consecuencias sin precedentes” si usa armas nucleares en Ucrania]

“Any nuclear attack against Ukraine will receive a response. Not a nuclear response, but yes. such a powerful military response that the Russian army will be annihilated“, assured the head of community diplomacy.

Borrell assures that the war in Ukraine marks a “serious moment in history” and obliges the EU to “show our unity, our strength and our determination”.

“We must continue to support Ukraine and seeking diplomatic solutions where possible. Right now it is not. But one day or another it will have to be. And we have to be willing to continue doing what we are doing today in supporting Ukraine in the peace negotiations, because the world needs this war to end“, maintains the High Representative.

In his view, Putin is challenging the rules-based international order. A pulse that has received a response from the UN General Assemblywhich this morning approved a resolution condemning the annexation by Russia of the occupied Ukrainian territories by 143 votes in favour, 5 against and 35 abstentions.

Borrell declared himself satisfied with the result, which he said required a lot of work on the part of European diplomats, but at the same time declared himself “concerned” because “there were many abstentions”. “When more than 20% of the world community decides not to reject the annexation by Russiafor me it is too much”, has lamented.

The war in Ukraine is having a negative impact not only for the Ukrainians who suffer from it or for the Europeans who are receiving exorbitant energy bills, but also for the countries of Africa and Asia that depend on Ukrainian cereals. Right now there are 100 ships loaded with 2 million tons of grain in the Black Sea waiting to receive authorization to reach world markets, highlighted the head of European diplomacy.

In his opinion, the criticisms that the war means the end of the EU’s foreign policy because it is “blindly” following the United States are unfounded. “For me it is the opposite. It is an opportunity for the EU to be more assertive and create a European position in terms of foreign, military and defense policy”, he pointed out.