On Capital Radio’s in ‘El Balance’ programme, our colleague Federico Quevedo interviews Ciudadanos MEP, José Ramón Bauzá to analyze the situation regarding Russia’s offensive against Ukraine in the first two days of the war.
The first days of the war
In the first 48 hours of the war, MEP Ramón Bauzá insists that the Ukrainian army is controlling the offensive. However, he insists that the situation is complicated because Kyviv has many inhabitants with a very hostile population, so those who have not left are prepared to fight. The MEP points to an urban war where the Ukrainian side has more of an advantage because it dominates the terrain.
Ramón Bauzá reports that Europe is working on imposing sanctions on Russia: “is absolutely important“. According to the MEP the sanctions have caused the Russian stock market to have its third biggest fall in history. The aim of these sanctions is to have a medium and long term effect. The problem, according to Ramón Bauzá, is that in order to approve some rules the EU has to act unanimously: “there are three countries highly dependent on Russian gas that do not support the most important sanction, the cancellation of payment by the Swift system“. These countries are Germany, Italy and Austria, which use this system to pay for Russian gas.
NATO decisions
He added that the EU has given 1.2 billion euros in aid to Ukraine. On military aid, NATO is not obliged to provide aid to Ukraine because it is not a member, but it has done so to deal with the invasion.
The most important decision is the claim of a no-fly zone in Ukraine. The moment this zone is determined, any aircraft flying over the airspace would be reacted to by NATO and shot down. Shooting down a Russian fighter would allow Putin to justify his nuclear potential, according to the MEP.
Common European Security Policy
Ramón Bauzá reports that Putin has made his threats because NATO or the European Union would not react. However, the EU has acted unanimously in deciding to confront Putin. One of the problems of the European Union, according to the MEP, is that there is no common defense and security policy, which is now being worked on.
Ciudadanos MEP insists that “Putin is a bully“, according to him, he has already demonstrated everything and in this process and he has demanded conditions that could not be met. “Ukraine should never join NATO” was one of his demands to force a fight that was already prepared.
Europe’s unanimous response
Ramón Bauzá insists that Ukraine should be given “everything it asks for, both lethal and non-lethal material“. He insists that Ukraine must be given all kinds of offensive material to counter the Russian army’s offensive. In the French Senate, where delegations from EU countries are meeting to decide on the conflict, the Ukrainian ambassador to the EU was received. The ambassador reported that he had already shot down 1,800 Russian army soldiers. Ramón Bauzá insists that it is the EU’s responsibility to supply Ukraine with ballistic defense equipment.
Humanitarian crisis
MEPs report that refugees are starting to arrive in Romania, Czech Republic and Poland. Madrid City Council has already offered to take them in. Ramón Bauzá insists that they must be received in the best possible way.
Through ‘El Balance’, a program hosted by Federico Quevedo on Capital Radio, Influence Spain is able to expand its network of contacts within the national, regional and municipal spectrum.
