De Croo leads Belgium's condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Belgium will take the necessary measures with its NATO allies to "intensify deterrence and defence," Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Thursday in a statement to parliament following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But, De Croo maintained, these actions will always be preventive, proportionate and will be careful not to provoke escalation.

The war in Ukraine started in the early hours of Thursday morning with Russian forces first bombing strategic Ukrainian positions and then advancing into the country through various entry points. It is unclear at this time how far Russian President Vladimir Putin will go in the takeover of Ukraine, which shares common borders with Poland, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

World leaders expressed their fear and anger at the invasion, which has started the biggest war in Europe since 1945. "Today we are living in one of the darkest moments since the Second World War," De Croo confirmed during a plenary session in the house on Thursday afternoon.

"Since the 1990s and the stabilisation in the Balkans, it was thought that peace was definitely a given,” he said. “Today, it seems that nothing could be further from the truth. This is an unprecedented aggression, never seen before, against Ukraine. It bothers Vladimir Putin that Ukrainians are free citizens, that this country makes its own choices and turns its gaze to the West. So Putin's attack is an attack on freedom," he added.

"There is no evidence that Russia is also targeting NATO countries,” he added. “However, a number of European countries feel threatened, and have therefore today invoked Article 4 of the NATO Treaty. It states that as an alliance, we consult each other whenever a country feels threatened in its territorial integrity, political independence or security."

These consultations have begun and will continue, "but our actions will always be preventive, proportionate and avoid escalation."

At the Belgian level, "we are taking the necessary measures to strengthen the protection of our critical infrastructure," the prime minister said.

De Croo described Russian president Vladimir Putin as an "autocrat and kleptocrat," adept at assassinating and poisoning opponents.

The prime minister also said that he fully supported the European Union’s decision to enforce heavy sanctions on Russia. The sanctions that the EU is planning in response to the invasion are not intended to affect the population of Russia, he said, but this regime. "Our action is aimed at weakening Russia's industrial and military complex. Firstly, the financial sector: we must isolate Russian banks and state-owned enterprises from international money markets."

Representatives of the political and economic elite will be added to the sanctions list, "from the Russian oligarchs to the club of kleptocrats surrounding Putin." The sanctions will also have to focus on the technology that Russia needs to run its economy and ensure its military activities.

"Vladimir Putin considers democracy weak and Western values irrelevant, because we – unlike him – do not resort to physical violence, because we do not put lives at stake in useless wars, because we reject the law of the strongest and prefer political dialogue to cruise missiles."

De Croo called for unity within the EU and NATO, in order to hold on "in the days and months to come". "And we will have to use this unity to end the great injustice done to Ukraine."

"War and invasion" requires response by Western allies, says Wilmès

Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès, tipped to take over at NATO in the Spring, later told reporters that the “war and invasion” by Russia in Ukraine required a response by Western allies “at the level of this unprecedented attack.”

“We can use the words ‘war’ and ‘invasion’,” Wilmès said. “If we can’t use these words today, then I don’t know when we can. This is an unprecedented attack by Russia on Ukraine. This is a dramatic situation on Europe’s doorstep.”

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Russian attack,” Wilmès continued. “We have a message of unity and support for the Ukrainian people. We have supported them since the beginning and we must continue to do so. We must deliver a response at the level of this unprecedented attack.”

“We need a precise picture of what is happening on the ground,” she added. “The indications we have from the international reports do not bode well at all and indicate a multitude of attacks in different places.”

The former prime minister said that “a war of disinformation” was being waged alongside the invasion, accusing the Russian president of using dialogue as a “pretext” while he assembled “all the elements enabling it to put in place a major-scale invasion of Ukraine.”

“Vladimir Putin’s words are scarcely credible as things stand when he says he wants a diplomatic resolution to the present situations. We multiplied our contacts precisely to avoid this,” she underlined.

Meanwhile, Flanders has suspended with immediate effect all export licences to Russia which currently apply to material considered sensitive, Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon announced on Thursday morning.

This temporary interruption, which will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis depending on the evolution of events according to Mr. Jambon, applies to all deliveries with Russia as their final destination and which are subject to authorisation.

This mainly concerns dual-use goods, products that "can be used for production, development or maintenance in connection with defence activities,” he said.

As part of European sanctions, there has already been a ban on the export of dual-use items intended for military use or military end-users to Russia for several years. A dual-use product that does not meet these criteria can be exported under a licence, which is now suspended by Flanders.

Dual-use items can be objects, software or technology; electronic devices, lasers, antennas, etc. The European texts include a precise list of equipment and technologies that must be subject to export control. The Flemish authorities also require special "vigilance" for goods destined for Russia that are not subject to a licensing requirement. Restrictions on the export from the EU of technologies used in the oil sector are also in force. Again, depending on the suspected end-use of the material concerned, certain goods are prohibited from sale to Russia, with exceptions subject to authorisation.