17-03-2025
Morawiecki: "No word that comes from the Kremlin should be trusted by definition"
Mateusz Morawiecki is convinced that in talks with Moscow, Kyiv needs the support of the West. "No word that comes from the Kremlin should be trusted by definition. The Russians, previously the Soviets, were able to break all the treaties they concluded. (Therefore) the treaties must be supported by real force. The Ukrainians have such real force, but in order to be able to oppose Russia, it must be a force supported by the West" - emphasizes the head of the European Conservatives and Reformists.
The former Polish Prime Minister became the head of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, which brings together conservative groups in the European Parliament, a few months ago. Morawiecki replaced Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who recommended him for this position. When taking up the position, the Pole emphasized that among the goals he sets for himself is maintaining and developing transatlantic relations. Now he says on The Europe Conversation that these relations are necessary to end the war in Ukraine. "Without the Americans, it is hard to imagine lasting peace, and yet we all strive for it. So I hope that it is not only these words of Minister Lavrov or President Putin, or other officials, the highest state officials of Russia that will set the directions of changes in the near future. But above all, hard power, hard commitments and guarantees on the European side, but also, above all, on the American side," emphasizes Mateusz Morawiecki in an interview.
According to the former prime minister, good transatlantic relations are crucial for peace in Europe and Trump's expectations towards European partners are natural. Trump, says Morawiecki, "must demand from his European partners that all of us in Europe, European NATO countries in particular, rise to the occasion. Without American support, we in Europe would not be able to be calm for decades." The politician believes that if transatlantic relations were not to survive, "our European world will be endangered, it will be very seriously endangered. Russia will enter into a very lasting agreement with China, and such a Russian-Chinese tandem is a powerful force that is able to dominate not only Central Europe, but simply the whole of Europe."
The former prime minister recalls that it was his government (Morawiecki headed the Polish government in 2017-2023) that committed to greater defense spending. Currently, Poland allocates over 4 percent of its GDP to this. "Today, we are the country among the 32 NATO countries that spends the highest percentage on defense policy," emphasizes the former head of the Polish government. In 2026, Poland will spend at least 5 percent of its GDP on defense, which means over PLN 200 billion.
The politician believes that Donald Trump's actions are more important than the changing narratives of his country: "I don't get used to what he says at a given moment, I just look at what he does, and his actions lead primarily to this. Let's look at this moment from an American perspective, in order for American forces and American resources to be transferred, to be "switched" partly to the Pacific, to the Chinese section (Trump) must demand from his European partners that all of us in Europe, the European Union, NATO countries in particular, rise to the occasion". According to Morawiecki, Poland, since he was prime minister, has been fulfilling its obligations as a member state of the North Atlantic Alliance by paying high contributions to the NATO budget.
"Today, we are the country among the 32 NATO countries that allocates the largest percentage of its budget to defense policy. Our words were followed by actions. It is different in Europe. These words, which I have been hearing for a year, two, three, are not followed by actions," emphasizes the former Polish Prime Minister in The Europe Conversation. Morawiecki believes that Europe has a very powerful instrument in its hands that would allow it to quickly end the war, but it still does not reach for it: frozen Russian assets. "Let's take these assets and Russia will immediately sit down at the table, because it will be afraid that it will lose 300-350 billion dollars forever," argues the head of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. The entire interview with Mateusz Morawiecki on Euronews in the program "The Europe Conversation".
A series of video clips have been circulating on social media, claiming to show Ukrainians putting makeup on and pretending to go to war.
One account named "Liberal Tear Creator" shared a series of three videos, alleging that soldiers were "faking combat", in order to appear "war torn" and get funds from the US.
Although the clips have not been manipulated, they have been misleading taken out of context.
A search of the TikTok handle "vitsikkkk" which appears in the clip took Euroverify to the account of a Ukrainian combat medic named Vitsyk, who has nearly 300k followers. He also has a YouTube channel with almost 15k subscribers.
Further investigating revealed that the clips had been taken out of context, from the behind the scenes of a music video called "Brothers", which Vitsyk posted on his channel in February 2025 to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In the music clip, the same woman who online users claimed was putting fake make-up on, can be spotted.
Her name is Mariana Chechelyuk and she was captured by Russian forces while defending the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol in April 2022.
Chechelyuk was released in May 2024, after spending 25 months in Russian captivity.
On Instagram, Chechelyuk addressed the misleading posts with disbelief, stating "what is there to say."
"The purpose of the video was to show the pain of Ukrainian soldiers who lose their loved ones every day, for their brothers who have become their family during the war", Chechelyuk told Euronews.
The music video, which Vitsyk produced the song for, also features three other Ukrainian soldiers who were captured while defending the Azovstal steel plant.
Speaking to Euronews, Vitsyk said "I am a creative soldier, for me music and songs are medicine that dull my pain from the loss of my best friends."
Defending the video, Vitsyk said "every word in our creative reality is written in blood. Every pixel and costume in our music video, as well as bulletproof vest and helmet have been through so much more in real life."
"We are not actors" he added, calling on those who suspect the war in Ukraine to "be a film, to come and visit the country."
