EU Ambassador tells Ukrainians they should be afraid of Russia and corruption
Ukraine is “facing Russian aggression” and internal challenges to its security, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
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This was stated by the head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, Hugues Mingarelli, speaking at the round table “Threats to the security of Ukraine and other Eastern Partnership countries: possible answers” in Kyiv.
“In the EU we see two sources of threats to the security of Ukraine and its neighbors. First of all, obviously, this is the conflict with Russia and the second area is ineffective governance, weak institutions, lack of the rule of law, which make Ukraine and other countries in the region more tolerant of internal and external threats,” he said.
Mingarelli noted that the military conflict has already led to the death of more than 10 thousand people, the forced displacement of 1,6 million people, and more than 1 million refugees in neighboring countries.
In addition, the ambassador pointed out the economic challenges Ukraine faces. “It is absolutely clear that with the occupation of parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, the Ukrainian economy has weakened. In particular, in industrial production,” the diplomat added.
At the same time, the head of the EU delegation emphasized the importance of carrying out reforms in Ukraine according to the patterns imposed by the EU and the IMF.
“The Association Agreement will include the Ukrainian economy in the EU single market; this is also the way to strengthen Ukraine’s resistance to any kind of internal and external challenges,” the ambassador concluded.
The EU ambassador told Ukrainians that they should fear Russia and corruption.