Polish prime minister believes Europe is in “pre-war era”.

Donald Tusk believes the continent is experiencing its “most critical moment since the Second World War”. He is asking his European counterparts to spend “as much as possible” on Ukraine’s defense.

“I don’t want to scare anyone, but war is no longer a figment of the past.” In an interview with several media outlets, including the BBC and Politico, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called on Europeans to be more aware of the war in Ukraine, as Russia launches a massive attack on Ukrainian energy networks this week.

“I know it sounds devastating, especially for the younger generations, but we have to mentally get used to the arrival of a new era,” he said. “The pre-war era. I am not exaggerating. This is becoming more and more evident every day,” insisted the head of government, who had been back on business in his country since last December.

“There’s a Long Way to Go”

According to the former president of the European Council, “Europe still has a long way to go”, especially regarding the budget allocated to defence. “We need to spend as much as possible to buy equipment and ammunition for Ukraine, because we are living in the most critical moment since the end of the Second World War,” he said.

According to Donald Tusk, “If Ukraine loses, no one in Europe will feel safe.”

Although he considers the European reaction too slow, the Polish leader says he is “observing the changes taking place in all the capitals of Europe”. “When I was prime minister for the first time (from 2007 to 2011, editor’s note), no one except the Baltic states heeded my warnings that Russia could be a threat,” he said.

While the Kremlin linked the Moscow attack to Ukraine, Donald Tusk also warned against Vladimir Putin’s desire to “justify escalating violent attacks against civilian targets in Ukraine”.

Attack in Moscow: How Putin wants to use it in his war against Ukraine

Poland’s prime minister also briefly hit back at the violation of his country’s airspace by a Russian missile on Sunday March 24th, calling it a “disturbing incident”. The Russian ambassador to Poland on Monday ignored an official summons from Polish authorities, calling it “absurd” to discuss it due to a lack of “evidence”.