EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said before the European Arctic Summit in Finland that Russia sought to persuade Western countries to reduce their support for Ukraine through the train incident near the Ukraine-Poland border.
Kallas said she would discuss some of the proposals for the new Arctic strategy that the European Commission plans to present in October with leaders at the summit.
Bases and new sea routes in the Arctic
Kallas said Russia had begun reusing some Arctic military bases left over from the Soviet era after modernizing them, adding that climate change was opening new sea routes of importance to the rest of the world.
These developments demonstrated the increasingly intense power struggle in the region, Kallas said, pointing to the Arctic's transformation into an arena of military and strategic competition.
Kallas calls on Europe to support Ukraine
Kallas said Russian unmanned aerial vehicles struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border minutes after a train carrying European officials had passed. She argued that the incident was intended to deter Western countries from supporting Ukraine and from traveling to the country to demonstrate their support.
Kallas said Europe must continue supporting Ukraine, warning that otherwise Russia could achieve its goal of dividing the country. She stressed that Moscow's objectives did not end there and called on Europe to act decisively on the issue.
Another train was hit in the area near the Ukraine-Poland border minutes after a train carrying European politicians and diplomats passed. The train also carried former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt and Britain's National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell.
