Front page of the Polish conservative weekly Directly of June 6 has already made the rounds of the web. We see Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, and Emmanuel Macron, the French President, leaning on the handset of a telephone. They are in conversation, at the other end of the line, with Vladimir Putin, immersed in a bath of blood.
The editorial states it straight away: “The EU will continue to fund the Russian war in Ukraine. On the battlefield, selfishness and hypocrisy are always present.” It is about the embargo adopted by the EU on May 30, with the aim, for the 27 member countries, of reducing their imports of Russian oil by 90% by the end of the year, by providing an exception for supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, demanded by Viktor Orbán, in Hungary, in particular.
Directly believes that this sixth sanctions package is a fiasco: “The oil and gas trade is the main source of income for Russia and, at the same time, the main source of financing the aggression in Ukraine”, remarks the editorial, doubting that the final decision, which will be taken at the next EU summit, will succeed.
For the Polish weekly, it is “European selfishness and hypocrisy” who ended up winning: “While Zelensky’s army is waging a decisive battle against Russia in the Donbass, European capitals are mainly worried about the percentage fall in their GDP and the level of inflation”, continues the title.
In another article, General Waldemar Skrzypczak, commander of the Polish land forces from 2006 to 2009, also criticizes the Franco-German couple. “In 2014, Germany and France humiliated Ukraine for the first time. Now, thanks to the same countries, to which we add Hungary, we are heading towards the same result, a second time”, says the senior officer.
“The Ukrainian army, stronger every day, will probably be ready to fight the aggressor and able to try to liberate the lost territories. However, with the Russian army rearing its head from its ruins, this will be extremely difficult, if not impossible. We will therefore return to the pre-war situation, with the difference that the front will be much longer”, he predicts.