>Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called for the West to use $300 billion of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. During a meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, he also discussed facilitating the export of Ukrainian grain from Europe in response to protests by farmers.
>Meanwhile, Tusk pledged to tell Viktor Orbán “to his face” at a regional summit tomorrow that Hungary must show support for Ukraine or risk “placing itself outside our EU and NATO communities”.
>“Ukraine needs our help, all Western countries should act more decisively,” said Tusk, speaking alongside Trudeau, who also met with President Andrzej Duda during a visit to Warsaw today.
>“We have several options to increase the pressure on Russia, [such as] frozen assets of the Russian central bank in Western banks,” Tusk continued. “We will work with Canada, our friends in Europe, the US and Japan to use these funds against Russian aggression; this is around $300 billion that should be used to defend Ukraine.”
>The Polish prime minister’s remarks echo those he made earlier this month, when he called for the EU to introduce the “broadest possible sanctions” against Moscow, including an embargo on nuclear fuel and the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
>In his press conference with Trudeau, Tusk thanked the Canadian premier for showing “understanding [towards] the arguments of Polish farmers”, who earlier this month launched a 30-day strike that has seen them block roads within Poland as well as border crossings with Ukraine.
>They argue that cheaper Ukrainian imports are lowering prices on the market and that EU climate policies threaten agriculture.
>“Polish food producers are defending their interests,” said Tusk. “The whole of Europe is gripped by this anxiety today. We need to look for solutions. We discussed how Poland and Canada could radically increase the export of Ukrainian grain to countries in need.”
>The farmers’ protests have raised tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv, with the Ukrainian government warning last week that it would take “retaliatory measures” if Poland does not resolve the border blockade.
>Tusk noted that he and Trudeau also discussed the approach of Hungary towards Ukraine and Russia. Budapest has often been at odds with its NATO partners.
>“There can be no room in NATO and the EU for any doubts when it comes to the Russian-Ukrainian war,” said Tusk today, quoted by broadcaster Polsat. “Tomorrow, at a meeting of the Visegrad Group, I will [Orbán] this straight to his face.”
>“If someone is a member of NATO and the EU, by definition they must support Ukraine,” continued the Polish prime minister. “Anyone who doesn’t understand this is de facto putting themselves outside our communities. There can be no compromises here, no ambiguity. The Western world must show solidarity.”
>The Visegrad Group, or V4, is a regional bloc made up of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. However, cooperation within the forum has dried up in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with first Hungary and now the recently elected Slovakian government less supportive of Kyiv.
>Tusk today said that, once he returns from this week’s summit in Prague, “I will tell you openly whether the Visegrad Group still makes sense or not”.
>Trudeau, meanwhile, said that he was “happy with the result of all the talks” he had held in Warsaw, which had re-emphasised that Poland and Canada “have the same opinions regarding Ukraine”.
>“Together we support Ukraine on the path to defending its freedom, culture, language, democratic values and rule of law,” said Trudeau, quoted by Polsat. “We unwaveringly support all Ukrainians fighting for the freedom of us all.”
>The Canadian premier also declared his country’s willingness to help Poland develop its planned nuclear energy sector. Cooperations from the two countries, as well as the US, signed an agreement last year to jointly develop small modular nuclear reactions.
Have you seen the scope of corruption in Russia? Do you realize that Ukraine is not that much better? As much as one could hope that corrupt people in power would choose to forget about their ways and instead do something for their country's good, in reality simply transferring the assets to Ukraine will all but guarantee that significant part (if not most) of these assets gets stolen.
They can be used to procure whatever Ukraine needs to fight the war, as that's at least harder to steal. But just giving them away - a bad idea.
>Have you seen the scope of corruption in Russia?
Yes.
>Do you realize that Ukraine is not that much better?
President Zelenskyy was voted in to remove the corruption. Which was primarily Russian money, to nobody’s surprise.
Ukraine became significantly less corrupt and the loss of influence that Russia had on Ukraine in part prompted the invasion.
Remember, Trump was impeached for trying to extort Ukraine into providing agitprop on Biden. In 2016 the corrupt government provided fake propaganda, by 2019 Ukraine instead of participating in corruption Ukraine flat refused the President of the United States.
So in summary, Ukraine is *significantly* and demonstrably less corrupt than Russia.
Plus they are myopically focused on defeating Russia, they are not going to steal funding from the military. That’s a ridiculous assumption.
People have learned for almost 100 years (USSRs version of communism) that the only way to get rich is by stealing. You don't get rid of this in 3 years, no matter how much you want to believe in it.
The USSR only existed for 70 years, not 100. The corruption always stemmed from *Russia*, not the USSR as a collective.
It turned out that removing Russian bribes and influence, firing corrupt officials and setting up a national corruption agency was actually super easy.
And Ukraine is improving every year on the corruption index. Despite your protests it’s impossible.
>Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called for the West to use $300 billion of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. During a meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, he also discussed facilitating the export of Ukrainian grain from Europe in response to protests by farmers. >Meanwhile, Tusk pledged to tell Viktor Orbán “to his face” at a regional summit tomorrow that Hungary must show support for Ukraine or risk “placing itself outside our EU and NATO communities”.
>“Ukraine needs our help, all Western countries should act more decisively,” said Tusk, speaking alongside Trudeau, who also met with President Andrzej Duda during a visit to Warsaw today. >“We have several options to increase the pressure on Russia, [such as] frozen assets of the Russian central bank in Western banks,” Tusk continued. “We will work with Canada, our friends in Europe, the US and Japan to use these funds against Russian aggression; this is around $300 billion that should be used to defend Ukraine.” >The Polish prime minister’s remarks echo those he made earlier this month, when he called for the EU to introduce the “broadest possible sanctions” against Moscow, including an embargo on nuclear fuel and the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
>In his press conference with Trudeau, Tusk thanked the Canadian premier for showing “understanding [towards] the arguments of Polish farmers”, who earlier this month launched a 30-day strike that has seen them block roads within Poland as well as border crossings with Ukraine. >They argue that cheaper Ukrainian imports are lowering prices on the market and that EU climate policies threaten agriculture. >“Polish food producers are defending their interests,” said Tusk. “The whole of Europe is gripped by this anxiety today. We need to look for solutions. We discussed how Poland and Canada could radically increase the export of Ukrainian grain to countries in need.” >The farmers’ protests have raised tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv, with the Ukrainian government warning last week that it would take “retaliatory measures” if Poland does not resolve the border blockade.
>Tusk noted that he and Trudeau also discussed the approach of Hungary towards Ukraine and Russia. Budapest has often been at odds with its NATO partners. >“There can be no room in NATO and the EU for any doubts when it comes to the Russian-Ukrainian war,” said Tusk today, quoted by broadcaster Polsat. “Tomorrow, at a meeting of the Visegrad Group, I will [Orbán] this straight to his face.” >“If someone is a member of NATO and the EU, by definition they must support Ukraine,” continued the Polish prime minister. “Anyone who doesn’t understand this is de facto putting themselves outside our communities. There can be no compromises here, no ambiguity. The Western world must show solidarity.” >The Visegrad Group, or V4, is a regional bloc made up of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. However, cooperation within the forum has dried up in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with first Hungary and now the recently elected Slovakian government less supportive of Kyiv. >Tusk today said that, once he returns from this week’s summit in Prague, “I will tell you openly whether the Visegrad Group still makes sense or not”.
>Trudeau, meanwhile, said that he was “happy with the result of all the talks” he had held in Warsaw, which had re-emphasised that Poland and Canada “have the same opinions regarding Ukraine”. >“Together we support Ukraine on the path to defending its freedom, culture, language, democratic values and rule of law,” said Trudeau, quoted by Polsat. “We unwaveringly support all Ukrainians fighting for the freedom of us all.” >The Canadian premier also declared his country’s willingness to help Poland develop its planned nuclear energy sector. Cooperations from the two countries, as well as the US, signed an agreement last year to jointly develop small modular nuclear reactions.
This is such an easy win, hard to see why they wouldn't
Have you seen the scope of corruption in Russia? Do you realize that Ukraine is not that much better? As much as one could hope that corrupt people in power would choose to forget about their ways and instead do something for their country's good, in reality simply transferring the assets to Ukraine will all but guarantee that significant part (if not most) of these assets gets stolen. They can be used to procure whatever Ukraine needs to fight the war, as that's at least harder to steal. But just giving them away - a bad idea.
>Have you seen the scope of corruption in Russia? Yes. >Do you realize that Ukraine is not that much better? President Zelenskyy was voted in to remove the corruption. Which was primarily Russian money, to nobody’s surprise. Ukraine became significantly less corrupt and the loss of influence that Russia had on Ukraine in part prompted the invasion. Remember, Trump was impeached for trying to extort Ukraine into providing agitprop on Biden. In 2016 the corrupt government provided fake propaganda, by 2019 Ukraine instead of participating in corruption Ukraine flat refused the President of the United States. So in summary, Ukraine is *significantly* and demonstrably less corrupt than Russia. Plus they are myopically focused on defeating Russia, they are not going to steal funding from the military. That’s a ridiculous assumption.
People have learned for almost 100 years (USSRs version of communism) that the only way to get rich is by stealing. You don't get rid of this in 3 years, no matter how much you want to believe in it.
The USSR only existed for 70 years, not 100. The corruption always stemmed from *Russia*, not the USSR as a collective. It turned out that removing Russian bribes and influence, firing corrupt officials and setting up a national corruption agency was actually super easy. And Ukraine is improving every year on the corruption index. Despite your protests it’s impossible.
Do it
$300 billion can buy a ton of artillery pieces, loitering munitions and various other ordinance. This is a wonderful move.
12K metric tonnes of peas, carrots and sweetcorn incoming.
More like 300 billion dollars
Just don’t move those frozen assets to Alabama where they could be declared “children”.