Polish Foreign Minister urges EU fact-finding mission to prove Hungarian claim in Ukraine wrong

Sikorski pointed out that a “three-day” military operation has been lasting for four years now, "so Putin miscalculated criminally, and Ukraine is still standing." It is even recovering "some shreds of its territory", he noted.

"[...] these colonial wars, unfortunately, usually take quite a few years, because for them to end, they need a change in the minds of the aggressor," he added.

Sikorski thinks that Moscow should understand that it had made a mistake, and it probably already had, but

they also have to come to the conclusion that they can't achieve their war aims at an acceptable cost, and I don't think they've concluded that yet.

The way to make the Russians understand is to impose cost on them, he added. Although "cracks are clearly visible in the Russian economy, it takes time," he said.

"We have to stay the course, which means that Ukraine needs to continue resisting."

When asked about the current negotiations and whether they may lead to peace or a ceacefire, Sikorski said "it's legitimate to give negotiations a chance to check", but at the end of the day "it’s Ukraine that needs to decide what is acceptable."

He underlined that "Putin is still making maximalist demands, demands that Ukraine can't agree to. So while hoping and encouraging,

my sober assessment is that we are not close yet.

When asked about US attempts to pressure Ukraine into making concessions to Russia, which Sikorski called "shameful", the minister replied that at a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Kyiv on Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen announced, with the support of Antonio Costa, that the 90 billion euros for Ukraine will be on the way. 

Money matters because you now have a Ukrainian defense industry with spare capacities. If you get the money, you can make more weapons.

"[,,,] And I know it's never enough. But let me tell you, it's much more than many would have expected if you asked me four years ago," he added.

When asked about the obstacles to Ukraine's rapid accession to the EU, Sikorski pointed out that it took Poland nine years to prepare for EU membership, which it gained in 2004 — the same year as Hungary. He noted that Ukaine has not yet fully implemented the Association Agreement, and there are also some problems with voting legislation. We're talking about 80,000 pages of legislation when it comes to implementing the acquis communautaire, he said, adding that they have to deal with Hungary's objection too.

As regards energy issues, Sikorski said he had talked with the head of Naftogaz. He reminded that Hungary's Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, claimed in Brussels on Tuesday that there are no technical obstacles for the oil to flow through the Druzhba pipeline from Russia to Hungary.

"I have spoken today to the head of your Naftogaz,

who showed me pictures of the damage that Russian drones and missiles have done to the Druzhba, to the Brody pumping station.

"And this is the reason, or rather the excuse, on which Hungary is stopping some decisions on behalf of Ukraine.

So in my view, we need European Commission experts on a fact-finding mission here on the ground in Brody to prove to the Hungarians that their information is incorrect.

Cover photo: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images