France and Germany have armed Russia with 273 million euros (230 million British pounds) of military hardware, which is now likely to be used in Ukraine, according to an EU analysis shared with The Telegraph.
They sent equipment, including bombs, missiles, missiles and cannons, to Moscow, despite the EU-wide arms embargo imposed on Russia following the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
This month, the European Commission was forced to close a loophole after it was found that at least 10 member states had exported nearly 350 million euros (294 million British pounds) of hardware for Vladimir Putin’s regime. About 78% of this total is supplied by German and French companies.
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, faced fierce criticism this week for refusing to provide heavy weapons to Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to negotiate with Putin have led to accusations that the French president has been appeased.
Both Paris and Berlin have opposed the EU’s ban on buying gas from Russia, with the bloc currently paying Moscow 1 billion euros (840 million British pounds) a day for energy supplies.
The EU report came as Russia’s top commander said Moscow had expanded its goals to take “full control” of southern Ukraine as well as the eastern region of Donbass.
Russian forces would build a land bridge to Crimea and could drive as far as the border with Moldova, said Major General Rustam Minekayev, deputy commander of Russia’s central military district.
In New Delhi, Boris Johnson warned on Friday that Russia could still win the war by announcing plans to send British tanks to Poland so Ukraine could receive Soviet-era Warsaw T-72s.
Asked if Russia could win the war in Ukraine, the prime minister acknowledged that it was a “realistic opportunity” and that Moscow was very close to capturing Mariupol.
On Friday, Putin told Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, that the Marines hiding in the steel plant in the city of Azovstal would be allowed to live if they surrendered.
Mr Scholz, meanwhile, pointed to the threat of nuclear war as he tried to respond to critics for Berlin’s reluctance to provide Ukraine with powerful weapons.
Criticism intensified when it emerged that German companies had used a loophole in the EU arms embargo on Russia by selling dual-use equipment worth 121m euros (£ 107m) to Moscow, including rifles and special protection vehicles. .
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