Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on Monday that he needed more weapons and stronger Western diplomacy to achieve a “just” peace, receiving in kyiv the German Olaf Scholz, who is trying to pose as chancellor of the peace and recently reconnected with Vladimir Putin.
The head of the German government assured that Russia will not be able to “dictate” its conditions to kyiv, a little more than two weeks after his controversial interview with the Russian president. His surprise trip, the first since the summer of 2022, also comes at a time when Ukrainian forces are retreating on the front and while the arrival in January of Donald Trump at the White House raises fears of a cessation of American aid to kyiv. “Russia does not give gifts. And we can only guarantee peace by force: the force of our weapons, our diplomacy and our cooperation,” urged Mr. Zelensky during a press conference with from Mr. Scholz, deeming it “fundamental” for kyiv that Berlin “does not reduce its support next year”. He said he was still talking to the German Chancellor about the delivery of Taurus missiles, capable of hitting Russian territory, something Berlin is still refusing for fear of a Russian escalation. “We are constantly working to find greater common ground on the Taurus issue,” Mr. Zelensky said, judging that these weapons would help Ukraine “hit more military targets in Russia.”
But a change in Berlin’s position seems unlikely, now that Vladimir Putin is threatening to strike Western countries authorizing the use of such missiles, namely the United States and the United Kingdom. The Russian president also fired an experimental hypersonic missile at a Ukrainian city, touting its destructive power and threatening to use it against Europe if such strikes continued on Russian territory.
“Nothing without Ukraine”
However, the German Chancellor assured that he did not want to give in to Russia, announcing the delivery in December of military aid of 650 million euros. According to its spokesperson, this covers announcements already made in October. He stressed that “nothing concerning Ukraine will be decided without Ukraine”, meaning that Russia will not dictate the terms of peace during possible negotiations.
Because the return to the White House of Donald Trump in January leaves Europeans and Ukrainians fearing that Washington could force kyiv into territorial concessions, and grant a military and geopolitical victory to Moscow. Mr. Scholz assured that he wanted a Ukraine “in a position of strength” on the ground, recalling the 28 billion euros spent by Berlin for military support to kyiv, which places Germany in 2nd place behind the United States. He also vowed to help kyiv in the face of strikes against energy infrastructure in winter: “Putin wants people to freeze,” denounced the chancellor. “We will not allow his cynical calculation to succeed.”
In difficulty in his country before the anticipated legislative elections on February 23, 2025, Olaf Scholz poses as unwavering support for Ukraine, but also tries to pose as chancellor of peace, capable of speaking to Moscow, in comparison to his conservative rivals Germans, considered more hawkish.
During the night, Russia launched a new large-scale air attack against Ukraine, using around a hundred drones.
Growing Russian Earnings
On the ground, the Ukrainian forces, lacking weapons and men, are struggling. The Russian army advanced over 725 km2 into Ukrainian territory during the month of November, its largest territorial gain in a month since March 2022 and the first weeks of the war, according to an AFP analysis Monday in based on data from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Another point of disagreement between kyiv and Berlin is NATO. While the Ukrainian president again demanded this weekend an invitation to join NATO “necessary for the survival” of Ukraine, Germany is one of the recalcitrant allies, Moscow having made such membership a red line .
Volodymyr Zelensky also assured Sunday that his country needed more weapons and security guarantees from NATO before possible negotiations with Russia. The Kremlin said it had no “expectations” regarding Scholz’s visit to kyiv, but once again welcomed the resumption of dialogue between the chancellor and Mr. Putin in mid-November. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, accused the West on Monday of only evoking a ceasefire as a way “to give Ukraine a respite and to give itself the opportunity to gorge again Ukraine” of weapons. Vladimir Putin demands the surrender of kyiv to end hostilities.
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