Kaja Kallas: Putin will not stop if the EU does not stop him
At the European Parliament in Strasbourg Kallas urged member states to impose a "higher price" on Russia and listed recent incidents she called deliberate provocations.
Kaja Kallas warned that Moscow's hybrid operations are designed to intimidate and paralyse European societies and decision-making, and urged EU member states at a plenary session in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to respond by imposing a "higher price" on Russia.
Speaking at the plenary, Kallas listed recent incidents across Europe — including an episode involving a Russian warship and a Danish helicopter, a drone shot down over Lithuania by NATO aircraft, a Russian attack on a passenger train near the Ukrainian border, and Poland recovering a drone from its waters — as evidence of deliberate attempts to test unity and sow fear.
Concrete measures, she said, are needed
"The purpose of Moscow's hybrid attacks is to scare us, to paralyse our societies and to encourage us to hesitate to act. That is exactly what Putin wants. We must not let fear dictate our decisions. We must respond to these attacks with concrete moves and a determined stance," Kallas said, calling for a coordinated European response.
She argued that Europe must continue supporting Ukraine despite Russian pressure and underlined the need to raise the cost for Moscow. "One thing is perfectly clear: Putin will not stop if we do not stop him. Russia is prepared to take greater risks and therefore Europe must impose a higher price," Kallas said.
Among the steps she proposed were public attribution of responsibility to Russia, sanctions on responsible individuals, cutting off Russian financing sources, restricting movements of Russian diplomats, and strengthening protection of Europe's information space. She also urged the EU to consider additional limits on Russian diplomats' movement within the Schengen area, a possible ban on issuing visas to former Russian fighters and a review of tourist visa issuance to Russian citizens. "We must reduce the number of people who carry out attacks on European soil," she concluded.
It was also noted in the same report that it is not known whether Vladimir Putin will attend the upcoming summit in Miami — and that former US President Donald Trump considers such attendance could be useful.
Photo: press material from the event
