Putin to install puppet regime in Ukraine if invasion succeeds – EU's top diplomat Borrell

Russia is going to install a puppet government in Kyiv if it succeeds in taking over Ukraine, the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell said in an interview with Euractiv.

"Russia is going all out. Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of giving in. His political survival is at stake," the diplomat said.

He noted that Putin is going to do everything he can and "does not mind sacrificing his army and his people."

"He is suffering enormous material and human losses and has not achieved any significant territorial advances," said Borrell.

The official also noted that today Russia has chosen a defensive strategy.

Of the million artillery shells that the European allies promised to deliver to Ukraine by March 2024, Kyiv can receive 600,000, media reported on January 30.

On the same day, EU High Representative Borrell said that the EU is increasing production and plans to transfer more than 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine by the end of 2024.

On February 1, the Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas said that the member states of the European Union did not achieve the goal stated in the initiative to provide Ukraine with 1 million shells, despite the fact that the production of ammunition in Europe has tripled.

On February 5, the joint Norwegian-Finnish munitions company Nammo Lapua submitted an application to participate in the EU project Asap to increase the production of munitions. The country plans to increase its output fivefold this year in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine.