This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68692195#0

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
War a real threat and Europe not ready, warns Poland's Tusk War a real threat and Europe not ready, warns Poland's Tusk
(about 8 hours later)
Mr Tusk (R) praised a change in mentality among European allies but said the next two years were criticalMr Tusk (R) praised a change in mentality among European allies but said the next two years were critical
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has delivered a blunt warning that Europe has entered a "pre-war era" and if Ukraine is defeated by Russia, nobody in Europe will be able to feel safe. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned Europe is in a "pre-war era" and Ukraine must not be defeated by Russia for the good of the whole continent.
"I don't want to scare anyone, but war is no longer a concept from the past," he told European media. "It's real and it started over two years ago." He said war was "no longer a concept from the past", adding: "It's real and it started over two years ago."
His remarks came as a fresh barrage of Russian missiles targeted Ukraine. His comments came after Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine's energy system on Thursday.
Russia has intensified its bombardment of Ukraine in recent weeks. Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week Moscow had "no aggressive intentions" towards Nato countries.
Overnight into Friday Ukraine's air force said it had shot down 58 drones and 26 missiles and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said energy infrastructure had been damaged in six regions, in the west, centre and east of the country. The idea that his country, which has one of the world's largest nuclear arsenals, would attack Poland, the Baltic states and the Czech Republic - which are all members of the Nato alliance unlike Ukraine - was "complete nonsense", he said.
Ukraine's national energy company has announced emergency blackouts in three regions of the country - Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kirovograd - and have urged consumers to limit electricity use. The provider, Ukrenergo, blamed "the massive Russian attack on Ukrainian power plants overnight." However, he warned that if Ukraine used Western F-16 warplanes from airfields in other countries, they would become "legitimate targets, wherever they might be located".
Mr Tusk, a former president of the European Council, said Russian President Vladimir Putin had already blamed Ukraine for the jihadist attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall without any evidence and "evidently feels the need to justify increasingly violent attacks on civil targets in Ukraine". After Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, relations with the West reached their lowest ebb since the worst days of the Cold War.
He pointed out that Russia had attacked Kyiv with hypersonic missiles in daylight for the first time earlier this week. Almost 100 missiles and drones were used in the latest Russian attack on Ukraine, leaving several regions experiencing partial blackouts.
He used his first foreign interview since returning to office as Polish prime minister at the end of last year to deliver a direct appeal to Europe's leaders to do more to bolster its defences. It was the second attack of its kind - in which Russia fires a large number of weapons simultaneously to overwhelm Ukraine's defences - in the space of a week.
Regardless of whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump won November's US presidential election, he argued Europe would become a more attractive partner to the US if it became more self-sufficient militarily. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the tactic "missile terror" and warned attacks on hydro-electric power plants could lead to a major environmental disaster.
Speaking to the BBC, the mayor of Kharkiv - where small businesses are relying on generators and industry is struggling amid blackouts - described the damage to the grid as "very serious" and said it could take two months to fully restore.
Appealing for urgent military aid for Ukraine, Mr Tusk warned the next two years of the war would decide everything, adding: "We are living in the most critical moment since the end of the Second World War."
Mr Tusk (R) and Polish President Andrzej Duda held talks earlier this month with President Biden at the White HouseMr Tusk (R) and Polish President Andrzej Duda held talks earlier this month with President Biden at the White House
It was not about Europe achieving military autonomy from the US or creating "parallel structures to Nato", he said. Poland now spent 4% of its economic output on defence and every other European country should spend 2% of GDP, with the European Union as a whole mentally prepared to fight for its security. Delivering his stark intervention on European security, he pointed out Russia had attacked Kyiv with hypersonic missiles in daylight for the first time.
Since Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine, relations with the West have reached their lowest ebb since the worst days of the Cold War, although President Putin said this week that Moscow had "no aggressive intentions" towards Nato countries. He said Mr Putin's attempt to blame Ukraine for the jihadist attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall without evidence showed the Russian president "evidently feels the need to justify increasingly violent attacks on civil targets in Ukraine".
The idea that his country would attack Poland, the Baltic states and the Czech Republic was "complete nonsense", he said. And yet he also warned that if Ukraine used Western F-16 warplanes from airfields in other countries, they would become "legitimate targets, wherever they might be located". Relatives of Moscow attack missing seek answers
This is not Mr Tusk's first warning of a pre-war era. He gave centre-right European leaders a similar message earlier this month. Mr Tusk used his first interview with European media since returning to the office of Polish prime minister at the end of 2023 to urge leaders around the continent to bolster their defences.
However, he revealed that Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, had asked fellow EU leaders to stop using the word "war" in their summit statements, because people did not want to feel threatened. Mr Tusk said he had replied that in his part of Europe, war was no longer an abstract idea. He said Europe did not need to create "parallel structures to Nato" but the continent would be a more attractive partner to the US if it became more self-sufficient militarily, regardless of who wins America's November presidential election.
Appealing for urgent military aid for Ukraine, he warned that the next two years of the war would decide everything: "We are living in the most critical moment since the end of the Second World War." Poland now spends 4% of its economic output on defence, while other European nations have not yet achieved the Nato target of 2%.
Mr Tusk said Poland now spent 4% of its GDP on defence and called on other EU states to meet a 2% targetMr Tusk said Poland now spent 4% of its GDP on defence and called on other EU states to meet a 2% target
What was most worrying now, he told journalists from some of Europe's biggest newspapers, was that "literally any scenario is possible". Mr Tusk, a former president of the European Council, has warned Europe must be prepared for war before.
He remembered a photo on the wall of his family home in Poland that showed people laughing on a beach at Sopot, near Gdansk where he was born, on the southern Baltic coast. He revealed Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had asked fellow EU leaders to stop using the word "war" in their summit statements because people did not want to feel threatened.
The image was from 31 August 1939, he said, then a dozen hours later and 5km (three miles) away, World War Two began. Mr Tusk said he had replied that in his part of Europe, war was no longer an abstract idea, warning "literally any scenario is possible".
"I know it sounds devastating, especially to people of the younger generation, but we have to mentally get used to the arrival of a new era. The pre-war era," he warned. He continued: "I know it sounds devastating, especially to people of the younger generation, but we have to mentally get used to the arrival of a new era. The pre-war era."
Despite his chilling remarks, Mr Tusk was more optimistic about what he called a real revolution in mentality across Europe.
When he was Polish prime minister for the first time, from 2007 to 2014, he said few other European leaders beyond Poland and the Baltic states realised Russia was a potential threat.When he was Polish prime minister for the first time, from 2007 to 2014, he said few other European leaders beyond Poland and the Baltic states realised Russia was a potential threat.
He praised several European leaders and highlighted the importance of security co-operation between Poland, France and Germany - an alliance known as the Weimar Triangle. And he pointed to Sweden and Finland, once paragons of pacifism and neutrality but now members of Nato. Mr Tusk was more optimistic about what he called a real revolution in mentality across Europe.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's newly appointed commander-in-chief Gen Oleksandr Syrskiy admitted in a rare interview that Russia was outgunning Ukrainian forces "about six to one" on the front line.Meanwhile, Ukraine's newly appointed commander-in-chief Gen Oleksandr Syrskiy admitted in a rare interview that Russia was outgunning Ukrainian forces "about six to one" on the front line.
"The defence forces are now performing tasks along the entire vast front line, with little or no weapons and ammunition," he warned in an interview with the Ukrinform news agency, saying the situation was "tense" in some areas. He said Ukraine had lost territory it would "undoubtedly have retained" had it been supplied with sufficient ammo and air defence system, and described the situation in some battle areas as "tense".
Gen Syrskyi said Ukraine had lost territory it would "undoubtedly have retained" with "a sufficient number of air defence systems and artillery shells", and said the country hoped to receive more aid and missiles soon. The latest warning from Poland's prime minister echoes what his neighbours in the Baltic states have been saying for some time; if Russia can get away with invading, occupying and annexing whole provinces in Ukraine then how long, they fear, before President Putin decides to launch a similar offensive against countries like theirs, that used to be part of Moscow's orbit?
The latest warning from Poland's Prime Minister echoes what his neighbours in the Baltic states have been saying for some time; if Russia can get away with invading, occupying and annexing whole provinces in Ukraine then how long, they fear, before President Putin decides to launch a similar offensive against countries like theirs, that used to be part of Moscow's orbit? Defence spending per capita is noticeably higher in the Nato countries bordering Russia than it is in Western Europe.
Defence spending per capita is noticeably higher in the NATO countries bordering Russia than it is in western Europe. Vladimir Putin, who critics say has just "reappointed himself" to a fifth presidential term in a "sham election", has recently said he has no plans to attack a Nato country.
Vladimir Putin, who critics say has just "reappointed himself" to a fifth presidential term in a "sham election", has recently said he has no plans to attack a NATO country.
But Baltic leaders like Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas say Moscow's word cannot be trusted. In the days leading up to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed Western warnings of the imminent invasion as "propaganda" and "Western hyperbole".But Baltic leaders like Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas say Moscow's word cannot be trusted. In the days leading up to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed Western warnings of the imminent invasion as "propaganda" and "Western hyperbole".
Related TopicsRelated Topics
War in UkraineWar in Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky
Donald TuskDonald Tusk
Russia
Nato
Vladimir Putin
PolandPoland