EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said that a drone attack near a train carrying European officials in Ukraine was intended to intimidate Western countries and discourage them from supporting Kiev.
"I think about that it is clearly meant to scare Western countries from supporting Ukraine, from going to Ukraine to show support," Kallas told reporters on Monday on the doorstep of the European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland.
"The question for us is: What do we take from that message? I think we should act the opposite. We should show that we are there for Ukraine, and we are not scared off," she said.
Kallas argued that backing down would serve Russia's objective of forcing Ukraine into "submission."
"And like I've said several times, this is not their end goal. Their end goal is much more. So we have to stand firm on this," she added.
Her remarks came after German newspaper Der Spiegel reported that a privately chartered train traveling from Kiev toward Poland on Sunday, carrying European officials and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was evacuated following a nearby drone attack.
Kallas also highlighted growing security concerns in the Arctic, pointing to Russia's reopening of former Soviet military bases, missile exercises in the High North and China's increasing interest in the region.
She said the EU is preparing a new Arctic strategy with security at its core, which is expected to be presented in October.
Kallas said the EU must maintain a unified position on Arctic security and other issues affecting the region, adding that Greenland would probably not be discussed specifically.
US President Donald Trump repeatedly called for US control of Greenland during his presidency, calling it a historical and strategic necessity. However, both Danish and Greenlandic leaders firmly rejected the proposal, maintaining that Greenland "is not for sale."
