Excerpts from Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian MFA Ivan Nechayev's briefing: the EU Action Plan on Military Mobility

Question: What can you say about the Action Plan on Military Mobility presented by the European Commission and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on November 10 and discussed at a meeting of the European Defence Agency?

Ivan Nechayev: The fact that this document was effectively drafted confirms the fact of ongoing militarisation of the European project, which was originally created to prevent a new war in Europe. Now, everything in the EU is subjected to the logic of military confrontation with our country. In fact, the EU is merging with NATO. The EU civilian infrastructure, including the transport and transit network, is being reformatted in order to facilitate the rapid deployment of heavy-duty equipment in the east/west direction. These efforts are amply funded.

Clearly, the belligerent groups in the European Union want more than ongoing supplies of, in circumvention of EU export controls, lethal weapons to the Kiev regime worth 3.1 billion euros through the European Peace Facility (that is Europe’s cynical interpretation of “peace”) and training of Ukrainian militants in Germany and Poland who will then kill civilians and destroy the infrastructure. Now, the EU wants to improve the logistics in order to be able to supply weapons and military equipment to the conflict zone faster. They are trying to rope other countries, such as Moldova and the Western Balkans, into their reckless enterprise.

Unfortunately, just like it was after the coup in Kiev in February 2014, a peaceful settlement in Ukraine is not part of the EU's plans. On the contrary, Brussels is deliberately escalating the situation. The EU is building up investment in order to draw out the hostilities and is, as a true hypocrite, turning a blind eye to multiple war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

All of that is posing a severe threat to stability in Europe, which some EU countries would like to see turn into an actual theatre of war operations. In addition, the implementation of the above Action Plan on Military Mobility 2.0 will come at a cost for the EU public.

Because of the short-sighted policy of the EU, the Europeans are already forced to confront skyrocketing inflation, cold homes, and long queues at the pump. We are not sure that they are willing to dig in their pockets and pay for the European bureaucrats’ multibillion-dollar militaristic undertakings.