European Union leaders said on Dec. 19 that they are ready to use their combined power over a long confrontation with economically struggling Russia, if the country's President Vladimir Putin refuses to back off from Ukraine. The warning from EU leaders comes after Putin criticized the Western sanctions on Russia, and accused the U.S. and EU of undermining his country in an annual press conference on Dec. 19.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
International Business Times: EU leaders warn of long-term confrontation if Russia doesn’t retreat from Ukraine
EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker gives a joint press with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and European Council President Donald Tusk (out of frame) following the European Union summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Dec. 18, 2014.
