Poland's head of government:

Warlike era in Europe has begun

Local inspection in the Ukrainian village of Velyka Pysarivka, just five kilometers from the Russian border.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Genya SAVILOV)

According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the Russian invasion of Ukraine a good two years ago has ushered in a new, warlike era in Europe. The most worrying thing for him at the moment is that literally any scenario is possible.

"I know it sounds devastating, especially for the younger generation, but we have to get used to the fact that a new era has begun: the pre-war era. I am not exaggerating; this is becoming clearer every day," he told Die Welt and European partner media.

"I don't want to scare anyone, but war is no longer a concept from the past," Tusk said. "It is real, and it started more than two years ago."

"We haven't seen a situation like this since 1945." In that year, the Second World War came to an end with the surrender of Hitler's Germany.

The Polish head of government Donald Tusk

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

At the same time, Tusk said that he was observing a revolution in the European mentality. No one was questioning the need to defend ourselves together anymore. "Look at Germany, a huge turnaround has taken place there. Today, the CDU and SPD are competing to see which of them is more pro-Ukrainian."

"Want us to deny our values"
In view of the instrumentalization of migrants by Russia, he called for more consistent protection of the EU's external borders. "The European Union as a whole, as a powerful organization, must be mentally prepared to fight for the security of our borders and our territory." Regarding the rejection of migrants directly at the border, he said: "No one can check each person individually when Russia and Belarus send thousands of people to the border at once.

They do this deliberately and in cold blood. If we can handle a thousand people, they send ten thousand and so on." The aim of the governments in Russia and Belarus is destabilization. "They want us to reach a point where we have to deny our own rights and values." The task now is to act as humanely as possible.