Tusk: Russia waging an undeclared war on Ukraine
22:50
Polish PM, Donald Tusk said at a press conference that what is happening in Ukraine has now become a war waged by Russia. “It is perhaps a war of a new type, without a declaration of war, but in reality it is war,” he said, adding that the international community's pressure to stop the violence has been a failure so far. “We're losing hope that there's still space for diplomatic initiatives. There are dozens of victims, rockets, weapons are used, helicopters are being shot down, and all this is being done by separatists. It's evident that we're dealing with a military confrontation organized not by demonstrators but by a state, by Russia,” Tusk said.
At the same time, former US ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daalder said in an interview with Deutsche Welle that the alliance should beef up its presence in the CEE region, especially in Poland and the Baltics. “I do think that it is extremely important that all NATO countries make very clear that NATO territory is inviolable and that any infraction of territory - whether it is direct military confrontation or the kind of indirect green man kind of tactics we have seen - will be dealt with directly, harshly and that the defense of NATO territory is absolute. In that regard it probably is wise if NATO were to forward deploy more military forces in the Baltics and Poland than it has up to this point and that it not just be the US and the UK, but that more European countries be involved in the deployment of forces there beyond aircraft,” he said.
Canada sends troops to Poland
Meanwhile, Canadian government announced that it will send 50 soldiers to participate alongside Polish and US troops in military exercises that are taking place in Poland. Earlier last week, Canada has sent six CF-18 fighter jets along with 250 pilots and support crew to Romania and diverted the naval frigate HMCS Regina and its 250-member crew to the Mediterranean to bolster NATO's presence in the region.”
