EU leaders warn of Russian threat as Frederiksen says Moscow ‘will not stop until forced’

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that Russia’s war on Ukraine will not end until Moscow is forced to stop, as European Union leaders met in Copenhagen to discuss security and support for Kyiv.

Opening the informal two-day summit, Frederiksen stood alongside European Council President António Costa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and dismissed recent talk of possible peace efforts.

“For the last few months, there has been much talk about peace in Ukraine, with meetings, pre-meetings and briefings about the meetings, and meanwhile, Russia continues its brutal attacks,” Frederiksen said. “It must be clear to everyone now: Russia will not stop until they are forced to do so.”

She added that Europe’s main task is to build strength so that “war against us becomes unthinkable, and we have to do it now.”

Moldovan President Maia Sandu told the summit that Russia has tried to interfere in her country’s elections through disinformation, attempted corruption and other destabilizing tactics.

“They wanted to capture Moldova through these elections, or at least to destabilize the country and … discredit the results,” she said. Sandu said Moldova’s resistance to those efforts should serve as encouragement for other nations: “If Moldova could do it, then everybody can do it.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk struck a somber note on Thursday, warning that Europe is already engaged in what he called a “new type of war” waged by Russia beyond Ukraine’s borders.

Tusk disclosed that Polish authorities were investigating another suspected Russian operation near the port of Szczecin in western Poland, involving Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet.” He said such incidents in the Baltic Sea occur “every single week.”

“We are also a target of Russian aggression, not only in hybrid tools, but also when it comes to political intentions,” Tusk said. “It is absolutely obvious that this is a very complex new type of war.”

He cautioned fellow leaders against illusions about Russia’s goals, pointing to daily attempts by migrants to cross into Poland from Belarus — some of which have resulted in clashes and casualties among Polish soldiers.

“It is our war, and if Ukraine loses, it means our failure,” Tusk said. While he argued that Europe is stronger than Russia in most respects, he warned that Moscow’s advantage lies in its readiness to sacrifice and endure hardship.

“If they win against Ukraine, it is then, in the future, the end of my country and of Europe, I have no doubt,” he said. “This is why we have to be as determined as Volodymyr [Zelenskyy] and his people, and as Maia [Sandu] and her nation.”