Bloomberg: U.S. can force Ukraine to defend itself, but Ukrainians must set one condition
16 January 2024 13:18
During a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will deliver a message from President Joe Biden. The White House wants Ukraine to change its strategy in the fight against the Russian occupiers and move from offence to defence. Bloomberg columnist Andreas Kluth writes about this.
The columnist argues that the West has already practically betrayed Ukraine by failing to provide it with the necessary resources to ensure a decisive advantage over the Russians on the battlefield. Now Ukraine is in a situation where an offensive is out of the question. And any joint ceasefire, that is, a freeze in the conflict, could be tantamount to a delayed surrender. After all, Russia will use the pause to rearm and resupply, and then resume a full-scale attack on Ukrainian society. And Ukraine may not receive more money and weapons from the West during the same ceasefire. Therefore, the transition to active defence is the only acceptable scenario.
So, Zelenskyy should whisper to Sullivan what they both already know: of course we will stop driving your Western Abrams, Leopard and Challenger tanks through the mud and trenches while the Russians are bombarding us with drones from above. We’re going to stop that because it doesn’t make sense. Instead, we will try to hold on to what we still have… We will do this because we need to turn time into our ally, not Putin’s ally. But we can only defend our lines if you in the US and Europe continue to send us drones, missiles and bullets, and impenetrable fortification kits.
“Festival of Security Agreements”
In this situation, the “Festival of Security Agreements with Ukraine ” is gaining momentum,when our partners guarantee us security under bilateral agreements such as the Budapest Memorandum. After signing the agreement with the UK, Ukraine’s next bilateral security agreement may be with Canada. In addition, Ukraine is negotiating relevant agreements with six other countries: The United States, Canada, France, Germany, Poland and Italy. In particular, the United States Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, said that two rounds of negotiations between Ukraine and the United States have already taken place on the content and content of the relevant agreement with the US government.
Ukraine continues to seek international support. In particular, yesterday in Davos, the next 5 points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula were presented. At the previous consultations in Malta, the first five points of the Peace Formula were considered, which included nuclear and food security, release of prisoners, restoration of territorial integrity and sovereignty. In Davos, an additional five points were presented: the withdrawal of Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities, the restoration of justice, environmental security, the prevention of escalation and recurrence of war, and the issue of confirming the end of the war.
