EU leaders debate Russia mutiny, pledge support for Ukraine

European Union leaders gathered on Thursday to discuss the aborted mutiny in Russia and debate what role the EU could play in long-term Western commitments to bolster Ukraine’s security. Arriving for a summit in Brussels, leaders said they remained committed to supporting Ukraine in the war triggered by Russia’s invasion of its neighbour in February last year. “We have to prepare ourselves that this can last for a long time,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters. “It’s important that we consult and say we’re ready to hold on for the long term, with financial and humanitarian support that’s necessary for Ukraine but also when it comes to weapons,” he said. Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg joined the leaders for a working lunch and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also expected to address the summit by video link. The two-day summit is a regular gathering of the EU’s 27 national leaders, with a range of topics including migration, economic security and relations with China all on the agenda. But the dominant topic is the war in Ukraine, with leaders also discussing how last weekend’s aborted mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group could affect Russia. Several leaders said they would be keeping a close eye on Belarus, where Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been exiled. Some also said the mutiny had weakened Putin but this did not mean the West could relax. “A weakened Putin is a greater danger,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. “An unstable Russia becomes also a risk.” Many leaders stressed the mutiny was an internal Russian matter and the EU should press ahead with its support for Ukraine regardless. The nature of that assistance is also on the table in Brussels as Western countries work on a package of long-term assurances to provide weapons, equipment, ammunition, training and other military aid to Kyiv. A draft of the summit conclusions said the EU and its members were ready to contribute to future security commitments to Ukraine, to “help Ukraine defend itself in the long term, deter acts of aggression and resist destabilisation efforts”. Diplomats said France – a champion of a greater security role for the EU – had proposed the text, saying that the idea was to build on EU initiatives such as a fund that bankrolls military aid to Kyiv and a training mission for Ukrainian soldiers. But the text caused concern among militarily non-aligned EU members, such as Austria, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus, and among staunch supporters of transatlantic cooperation such as the Baltic states, who insist European security is primarily a matter for Nato. Where are Russia’s top generals? Rumours swirl after Wagner mutiny “For us as neutral states it is clear we can’t give security guarantees like that. Austria, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus have made it clear they have objections,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on his way into the summit. “We will certainly discuss this and we will find formulations that will be acceptable for us as well.” Countries including the United States, Britain, France and Germany are discussing possible security assurances for Ukraine ahead of a Nato summit next month in Vilnius, Lithuania. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said any EU role was still up for discussion. “We will have to discuss how far it goes, and if it would be lethal or non-lethal support. And we have to take into account that several EU countries are not a member of Nato,” Rutte said. Ukraine: Kyiv accuses local man of directing missile strike that killed 10 Meanwhile, Poland plans to reinforce its eastern border following reports that Russian Wagner mercenaries plan to relocate to neighbouring Belarus. Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński said on Wednesday evening that both an increase of uniformed forces and “fortifications to protect our border in the event of an attack” are planned. Kaczynski made the comments after a special meeting of a government committee on security and defence issues. He said up to 8,000 Wagner fighters could find refuge in Belarus, citing Polish intelligence. Poland, a European Union and Nato member, shares a 418km (260 miles) border with Belarus. In the late summer and autumn of 2021, the situation at the border escalated when thousands of people tried to enter the EU illegally. The European Union accuses Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of bringing migrants from crisis regions to the EU’s external border in an organised manner to put pressure on the West. Poland has since installed a 5.5-metre-high fence along the land sections of the border. Prigozhin temporarily occupied the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday before leading his fighters towards Moscow, in what was the escalation of a long-simmering power struggle between the Wagner chief and the military leadership in Moscow. Some 200km from the Russian capital, the armed uprising was suddenly aborted. Lukashenko is said to have mediated the mutiny, with Prigozhin and his mercenaries reportedly promised immunity from prosecution by Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Lukashenko, Prigozhin is now in Belarus. The Belarusian strongman has also offered the fighters of the mercenary force admission to his country. Additional reporting by dpa