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Mire juthat az EU ukrajnai diplomáciája? EP-képviselők a The Ringben
Moszkva tudatosan eszkalálja az ukrajnai háborút: sorozatos orosz drónincidensek európai légtérben, EU-nak sürgős válasz kell, több védelmi pénzből?
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/06/04/mire-juthat-az-eu-ukrajnai-diplomaciaja-ep-kepviselok-a-the-ringben
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
Moszkva tudatosan eszkalálja az ukrajnai háborút: sorozatos orosz drónincidensek európai légtérben, EU-nak sürgős válasz kell, több védelmi pénzből?
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/06/04/mire-juthat-az-eu-ukrajnai-diplomaciaja-ep-kepviselok-a-the-ringben
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
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00:08Hello and welcome to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show broadcasting from the European
00:14Parliament in Brussels. I'm Stefan Grobe. On The Ring, debaters go face-to-face on some of
00:20the biggest political issues facing Europe. Today, we want to talk about the latest from
00:25the war in Ukraine. What's the answer to Russian drone attacks? And what can European diplomacy
00:31achieve? Luis Alberto explains. As the war in Ukraine grinds into its fifth summer,
00:40a peaceful solution remains as elusive as ever. The same can be said about a clear European
00:46strategy. Nowhere is this more evident than in the European response to the ongoing violations
00:52of EU airspace by Russian drones. The latest incident in Romania last week yielded strong
01:00condemnation, but nothing more. This is frustrating especially the Baltic republics, who fear to
01:05be in the Russian crosshairs next. Is Europe just eager to avoid a more serious confrontation
01:12with Moscow? Are some European leaders concerned that they might jeopardize their potential role
01:17as mediators in this conflict? And is this even realistic as Europe remains Ukraine's strongest
01:22political and economic backer?
01:29A lot to unpack here for our contenders. And here they are.
01:35Rasa Jugnavićine, a Lithuanian MEP from the Central-Right European People's Party. She is the
01:41Vice Chair of the Delegation to the Uranist Parliamentary Assembly and a member of the Committee of Foreign
01:48Security and Security. She said, I do not believe in deals with Putin. Peace negotiations are possible,
01:55but only after a ceasefire.
01:57Merja Kulunin, a Finnish MEP from the left and a member of the Committee on Security and Defense.
02:04A former Finnish transport minister, she has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine and has called for frozen
02:10Russian assets to be made available to support the country. She has also warned against complacency towards
02:16Moscow. In some countries, there is still a naive attitude towards Russia. She said, arguing that Europe
02:22must take the Russian threat seriously.
02:27So, let me welcome to the ring Rasa Jugnavićine and Merja Kulunin. Great to have you here,
02:34both of you. Good to see you.
02:35Hello.
02:36Now, the aim of the ring is to offer our viewers a glimpse at European Parliament debates. So,
02:42you should feel right at home. Are you ready?
02:45Yes.
02:45Good. Now, I want to start with that incident that happened last week. The Russian drone attack,
02:53the drone that crashed into an apartment building in Romania. After that, EU leaders portrayed it
03:01not as an isolated incident, but as evidence that Russia's war against Ukraine is increasingly spilling
03:07across borders. Now, what conclusion should Europe draw now? Merja, I start with you.
03:15Definitely, condemns is not enough. We need to fix up our capability, security, secure our countries,
03:25our people, because scare, scariness is the biggest weapon which Russia is using. And scariness,
03:33when it's going ahead, it makes us weak. And I think the drones, all the security which we can
03:46do with drone, we have speak about the drone wall, but we need more sensors, the new technology,
03:53and definitely use money wisely over the military budget also, because there's other operators which are
04:03dealing with these cases. And, for example, I have learned it from my home country, Finland,
04:08that we haven't been able to activate the system in other parts than only the military side.
04:15And I think the civil societies are urgent in this case.
04:20Rasa, you're from Lithuania, a country that, as we heard, is always at the crosshairs of Russia,
04:27so everybody believes. When you hear these news after Romania, after the incursions in the Baltic
04:34States, in Poland, what is your take? My take is the same as it was in the very beginning when
04:40this
04:40war started, and not only in 2022, but in 2014. We were warning all the time, Europe, NATO, other many
04:52countries. That is serious. It's not only regional war somewhere. And today, I think we are in a better
04:59situation as the European Union, as many NATO countries, because we have almost right diagnosis
05:06on the table. As medical doctor in the past, I have to say, and it's very important for politicians as
05:14well. First of all, to have the right diagnosis. Drones are only one piece of the whole picture,
05:22puzzle, which we have. So the picture, the whole picture is that Russia is a colonial, imperialistic
05:31state, and they will not stop just with Ukraine or only a piece of Ukraine. So this diagnosis is not
05:40yet on agenda, on the table in many, in all the countries. So if we want to have a proper
05:48treatment
05:50against drones, I don't know, against everything, we have to understand that we have to help Ukraine to
05:56win this war and to not to be afraid to defeat Putin. It was mentioned fair in video, in this
06:03short video.
06:04No, we don't feel fair because we, like Ukrainians, we would like to convince others not to be afraid to
06:12defeat this evil of 21st century. They want to make us weak, make us fight together, make us not trust
06:21to
06:21each other. That's the political game. That's the colonial kind of game also, what they are using. So NATO condemned
06:29this
06:30attack, but stopped short of treating it as an armed attack that could trigger article five,
06:39the famous self-defence, collective defence clause. Was this the right thing to do? Sort of condemning it,
06:47but also signalling that this, we don't think this is a, you know, a casus belli.
06:55I'm a little bit worried that we are waiting for the big bang to happen because Russia is testing us
07:03and when it will happen that something bigger comes, either to Baltic countries, either to Finland
07:11or to Poland. I think we are the next targets and the diplomacy and the condemn things, okay,
07:19it helps us a little bit, but actually something which is much more than this is the power that we
07:29need to
07:31say it out loud, that we are not giving up. Now, the Russians are saying, and obviously that apartment
07:39building in Romania was a sort of a random target. The Russians are saying that it's actually the Ukraine's fault,
07:44because they're jamming the airwaves and that makes drones difficult, difficult to operate. What do you
07:50make of this argument? Look, it is not the case to start to look drone, Ukrainian, Russian or something
07:57else. Russia is responsible for this war. Russia is responsible for all drones in Ukraine, in our space,
08:07or Putin is responsible that people of Russia now is suffering because of Ukrainian response. They are
08:14defending themselves. So here, coming back to your question about NATO response, what is lacking, I think,
08:24to understand that we are strong enough to be able to help Ukraine to win and not to be afraid.
08:33And Putin has to
08:36get a message that we are strong and we are ready. Now, still, now the situation is a little bit
08:42better.
08:43But remember, in the very beginning of this large-scale war, what messages were sent to Putin? Oh, please,
08:50for us, for everybody, we are afraid of the World War III. Don't attack Russian targets deep in Russia.
08:58We don't, we will not provide leopards. We will not provide with long-range missiles. What was the
09:06message to Putin? The message was, we are afraid. So today, we have to say in a very clear way,
09:14we have
09:15enough resources to do everything the best to defend ourselves, including the targets in Russia. Don't be
09:23afraid for that. Because if we are afraid of escalation, so Putin is opportunistic. Okay,
09:30so has our response been lukewarm so far? I think we, as Eastern borderline countries,
09:40have a different side of this picture than, for example, in the central part of Europe. And that
09:48worries me a lot, because this is also a media war. Because the information we give to other
09:55countries, information we give to Russia, the Russian people, I still can go to Spain or France
10:02and see in the telly the Russian news. And it shocks me because it means that we don't act like
10:13we are
10:13all in war with Russia. Speaking about worry. So after this incident, Dmitry Medvedev,
10:22who you all know, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said this, and I quote,
10:27EU countries need to shut up on this matter. European states are direct participants in the war against
10:33Russia. This will continue to happen and EU citizens will not be able to sleep peacefully.
10:40How worried should we be? So what? So what? We, of course, are at war helping Ukraine to win.
10:48Of course, we are at war because Russia is conducting already hybrid warfare in our member states. So we
10:56have to admit this and not to be afraid what Medvedev is saying is vice versa. Look, you mentioned Russia
11:04today or all those outlets in other European countries. Imagine if during the World War II,
11:12Hitler propaganda would be broadcasted in countries they are fighting against Hitler. So today we have
11:20this totalitarian regime with the very concrete name, Russian world. And this is exactly the same as it was
11:30maybe in the 21st century, Hitler and Stalin together. So we have to admit, all of us, if we are
11:37fighting,
11:37we have to fight. All right. Let me stop you here. As we're just getting warmed up, it's time now
11:44for gloves off.
11:51Now we want viewers to get a real flavor of the European Parliament chamber where members ask each other
11:57questions. That means we want our debaters to challenge each other directly, just as you do in the normal
12:03hemicycle. So let's get started. Rasa, let's start with you. My question is, what is your assessment of
12:10Donald Trump's nearly year-long efforts to negotiate deals with Putin?
12:17I hate the situation that he is dealing over us. I got the feeling that we need stronger leadership in
12:30the EU. I have said that if the bigger ones can't do it, we as the smaller EU countries should
12:37do that.
12:38I'm not saying that diplomacy is the case, how we can solve all the problems. But we are partners with
12:47Ukraine. And in any case, in every way, we can support Ukraine in this situation.
12:54It's urgently needed to be done. And I wouldn't let these two guys destroy our future and decide over
13:06Europe and over Ukraine. I'm sure we come to this point later. But now your question to Rasa.
13:13You have said that you cannot be a neutral mediator. I agree. Europe is not neutral between an aggressor and
13:21victim. But if the US and Rasa talk about Europe's security architecture and Rasa drones are violating our
13:31airspace, who should speak for Europe with one clear mandate? Ukraine's sovereignty pressure on Rasa
13:41and protection of European citizens? Who could be? You know, I don't believe in Putin's
13:50engagement to talk to start any negotiations. Today, we have quite different situation as it was one
13:59year ago. And I think Putin and he feels, I think his, at least his surroundings, they feel that they
14:07are losing, they are not winning this war. Maybe not losing, but they are not winning this war. And they
14:13are
14:13really in very difficult situation. So that's why they are trying to escalate the situation. It's not,
14:21it's dangerous. Of course, we have to take it seriously. But nevertheless, not to start negotiations
14:27about everything, about the future of Russia, about everything. We have to start to talk with him. First,
14:35precondition is ceasefire. And then to start to talk about the peace, but not about, you know,
14:43everything. So today, what I am missing in those talks among European leaders to start or not to start
14:49negotiations, the content, the understanding. We just started our show, our conversation about the right
14:59diagnosis. So until we don't have this right diagnosis, what we would like to achieve, and that
15:04is the evil of 21st century. So I can't imagine negotiations with Hitler in 1943 or 44. So for me,
15:15it's exactly the same lesson of history. We have to learn. Okay. So, well, we've heard the views from
15:22our guests so far. Now it's time to hear from a new voice. For our quote of the week, I
15:32would like to bring
15:32in Kaya Kalas, the EU's chief diplomat at the latest EU summit in Cyprus. She said this, Russia wants us
15:41to
15:41discuss who talks to them, and they are already picking who is suitable for that. Let's not walk into that
15:48trap.
15:50Are we walking into a trap here? Your comment, Maria? Yes. We didn't make things like that,
15:57that he can choose who is the operator. So there are basically two schools of thought here. One says,
16:06people are dying in this conflict. We need to put an end to this. That's why we need to find
16:11a negotiated
16:12solution. And the other position is, it's Russia's war. Russia is not interested in negotiations, so we need
16:19to continue the fight until they withdraw or until they lost the war. Rasa, where do you come down on
16:26this? Look, it is not what we believe or not will happen. It already happened. One year of negotiations or
16:34attempts to make a deal with Putin from Washington DC failed. You mean with the American-led effort?
16:40Let's admit it. It failed. So is it something new? It is somehow, but also it cost a lot Ukrainian
16:50lives. It cost a lot. And we were very close to legitimization of Putin's regime. If Putin would be
17:00clever enough to agree on those, I would say, to make the deal which was proposed. It didn't happen.
17:11I don't know what will happen in the future, but now we have to strengthen our own defense. We have
17:17to
17:17help Ukraine as much as possible today. This is the main precondition for the future, just peace in the
17:26future. The only precondition. Maria, would you say that we need to wait until the solution is found on
17:34the battlefield until Ukraine won the war and then we can talk and not earlier? I think we need to
17:41definitely pressure Rasa much more hard weapons than we are using now. How can we do that? I mean,
17:49the financial, the market, all the things we can do with the oil, with systems we have, the capability
18:00with EU have in others than only the military help to Ukraine. But I think we need also support more
18:09Ukraine. Militarily, you mean? Militarily. Yeah. So all these top weapons that so far we haven't given
18:17them, we should give them. Yes. Of course. Everything they need. Everything they need. Look,
18:22I like this name, how they call strikes deep to Russia. They call it like long-range sanctions.
18:35It works. It works. Russia has to feel, they have to feel that they are at war. Russians as well,
18:44unfortunately. And I have very many friends from Russian opposition. I know how painful it is for all
18:51sides when war is going on. But nevertheless, no one war was one only defending yourself. It's as a former
19:02minister of defense, I have to say this. It's reality. It is like textbook of every war. So when we
19:11were
19:11afraid to damage something inside Russia, we were wrong. We could win this war already together with
19:19Ukrainians, or maybe help more Ukraine to win this war. If end of 2022, beginning 23, when Ukrainians
19:29pushed back Russians from Kherson and Kharkov, that was a very good moment to provide Ukrainians with
19:36everything they needed. We were afraid to do this. We were afraid. All right. Let's keep defense spending for
19:43another conversation in a moment. And let's take a break now here on The Ring. We'll be back with more
19:50after this. Don't go away.
20:01Welcome back to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show. I'm Stefan Grobe, and I'm joined by Rasa
20:07Jugnevićine from the European People's Party from Lithuania and Merja Kilonen from the Left Group from
20:13Finland. At this point, let's take a look at European defense spending since the start of
20:19the war in Ukraine. EU defense spending went from more than 200 billion euros in 2021 to almost 350
20:27billion in 2024. This represents an increase of more than 60%. Defense spending reached almost 2%
20:36of EU GDP in 2024, up from 1.6% in 2023. Now, 25 of the 27 EU member states
20:46boosted defense spending
20:48in 2024. Now, your comments hearing these figures, Merja. I want more strategic thinking around EU
21:00using our defense money smartly. What does that mean? That means that we need to have common projects
21:12where we build up the security about air security, air defense, air security,
21:20build up new resilient systems around EU, because the common peace of our citizens is also the key to be
21:33prepared, as our former president, Sauli Niinister, in his report tried to teach us.
21:40So what worries me is that we don't have seen the whole picture. I think we are well prepared with
21:49Baltic country, with Poland, the eastern borderline. But how we can connect all the others to understand
21:55that we are... So is it really more money or is it spending the money that we have
21:59in a better way, a more efficient way? It's also more money. But the key issue is using it smartly,
22:08much more smartly and wisely than we have done before. And using it also the new technology,
22:16because what Ukrainians are saying to us, we are acting like everything is like in the old years.
22:25And things have changed. And we have to change our thinking too.
22:30Rasa, your point? Of course, increasing spending percentages are very important. And here, despite
22:40I have some criticism on Donald Trump, but on this I have to admit that his push to Europeans to
22:49spend
22:49more was very positive message and very positive things he did. We in Lithuania now our spending for
22:57this year will be 5.38 percent. So this is because we understand and people understand our reality.
23:06But on the other hand, I would say, I will quote Andris Kubilius, our commissioner for defense,
23:12not percentages, not percentages fighting in the battlefield. You know, we have to have,
23:18I will not repeat what you did mention, all those common understanding. So that's why me and many other
23:27more than 50 now members of European Parliament, including you, Maria, we created informal group for
23:35defense, European Defense Union. And we would like to push especially member states to wake up.
23:42Yes, I feel that some member states, they still live in the past as it was before. You know,
23:50as it is very famous quote of
23:55Politologist Clark, politicians think about next election, statesmen think about next generation.
24:03So now we have to be in one to think about next election. Of course, it's important,
24:08but to think more about next generation. You say there are 50
24:12like-minded members of parliament with you on this, but the parliament has 700 plus
24:19members. Where are the others here? My question is, is this a point where large majorities agree,
24:28even in the public, Maria, the rearming of Europe? I think we have just started because we realized that no,
24:40no, the big part of us share the same view, which, which is the situation in Europe or in white
24:48world.
24:48And I think always there has been a people who start the game. And I think 50 is more than
24:59good,
24:59because we have different countries, different political background, different history,
25:05different political history. And we can find colleagues from our countries, from different kind
25:12of background and build up a common understanding around this. I was surprised that we already
25:19have the 50 because there was, there was lots of people who were saying that, oh, we just look and
25:26check out things. I think we have made the wake up call. Now we have to continue.
25:31All right. Well, now it's time to move on to our fifth and final round.
25:40And now we want to do something different. I'm going to ask you a set of questions and you can
25:45only
25:45answer with yes or no. Should Ukraine agree to a ceasefire, even if Russia keeps some occupied territory?
25:57No, immediately. Oh, I think it's up to Ukrainians to decide, but I think yes.
26:04Yes. Yes. But not, you know, to recognize, not without recognition. It's very important.
26:12Should European countries send more weapons to Ukraine? Yes. Of course, yes.
26:17Should Ukraine be allowed to strike targets deep inside Russia with Western weapons? Yes. Yes.
26:25Have cheap drones made traditional military hardware less relevant? No, maybe not.
26:34Interesting. Should Ukraine join NATO before the war ends?
26:41No, I know that can't be possible. Yes. With one additional sentence. Ukraine today is acting as
26:51member of NATO. They are defending NATO member states. Okay. I have one more. Will this war still be ongoing
26:58in one year's time? Hope not. I am afraid. Yes, will. All right. And that final answer brings us to
27:09the end of this edition of The Ring.
27:11Thanks again to Rasa Jugnavietschene and Merja Kilone for a lively conversation here from the European Parliament.
27:19Thanks to our audience at home. If you like, you can continue the conversation by sending us your comments to
27:25the ring at euronews.com. We'd love to have your feedback. That's it for today. I'm Stefan Grobe.
27:31Take care and see you soon on Euronews.
27:34We'll see you soon on Euronews.
27:38We'll see you soon on Euronews.
27:45We'll see you soon on Euronews.
27:45We'll see you soon on Euronews.
27:45Euronews.
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