“Peter Pavel does not believe in the possibility of a total defeat of Ukraine, but it is unlikely that the already occupied territories will be returned.”, — write: www.unian.ua
Peter Pavel does not believe in the possibility of a total defeat of Ukraine, but it is unlikely that the already occupied territories will be returned.
The Czech president has extensive experience in military service and is therefore convinced that Ukraine will not be able to win / screenshotUkrainians and supporters of Ukraine will have to come to terms with the fact that Russia will retain control over the occupied territories at least for a while after the war. This opinion was expressed by the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, in an interview with The New York Times.Pavel, a former high-ranking NATO general and one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, believes that the loss of Ukrainian territories is a reality. The Czech president refers to the success of Russia-friendly populists, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who are undermining European unity in supporting Ukraine. According to Pavel, war fatigue is “growing everywhere”.
Ukraine “will have to be realistic” about the prospects of returning the territories occupied by the Russians, says the Czech leader:
The most likely outcome of the war will be that part of the Ukrainian territory will temporarily be under Russian occupation.
However, Pavel admits that this temporary occupation can last for years.
In his opinion, neither Ukraine nor Russia can expect to achieve their maximum goals in the war. For Ukraine, this excludes the return of the entire territory, including Crimea, and for Russia it will be impossible to achieve legal renunciation of Ukraine from the regions claimed by Moscow.
“Talking about the defeat of Ukraine or the defeat of Russia – this simply will not happen, so the end will be somewhere in the middle,” Pavel said.
At the same time, the Czech president rejected as “nonsense” the persistent calls of populist leaders such as Orbán to end aid to Ukraine and immediately conclude peace:
As someone who has some defense and security experience and knows Russia, I know that peace will not come through Ukraine’s declaration of a cessation of hostilities.
As the NYT points out, although the position of president in the Czech Republic is mostly ceremonial, Petr Pavel’s views generally coincide with those of the country’s current government, led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. In addition, Pavel has significant influence on security issues as a former Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army and former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.
Prospects for the end of the war: the latest newsAs UNIAN wrote, the day before President Zelensky arrived in the USA to present the Victory Plan to the allies, which, in his opinion, can be implemented through joint efforts. According to The Times, this plan consists of four main points:
- A request for Western security guarantees, such as a mutual defense pact, upon joining NATO.
- Continuation of the operation in the Kursk region of Russia as a territorial trump card.
- A request for the provision of “specific” modern weapons.
- International financial aid for the ruined economy of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russia bluntly refused to participate in the global peace summit that Ukraine wants to host this fall. Instead, Moscow continues to insist on the transfer of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions under its control as a prerequisite for the start of peace talks, which will apparently include additional demands.
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