cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5816495
Russia should “curb” the size of its army and military budget in order to ensure a lasting peace in Ukraine, said the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, adding that Western leaders should not fall into the “trap” of discussing restrictions on Kyiv’s army during peace talks with Moscow.
Kallas’ comments come after US President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Brussels and Kyiv over the past week to end the war on terms that many regard as favourable to Moscow – including by potentially limiting the size of Kyiv’s military.
…
The former Estonian prime minister added that current peace plans overwhelmingly seek “concessions” from Kyiv but not from Moscow, and warned that the Kremlin’s soaring military expenditure – expected to reach 7.2% of the country’s annual GDP this year – poses a “threat to us all”.
“We have always said that it’s a sovereign right for every country to decide the size of the military, and that’s why we shouldn’t walk into that trap that Russia is setting, talking about capping [the] Ukrainian army,” Kallas said. “I mean, Ukraine has never attacked Russia.”
Her latter remarks were echoed earlier on Wednesday morning by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“As a sovereign nation, there can be no limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces that would leave the country vulnerable to future attacks,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
…
I fully agree, but we are talking about two different things.
I said that currently I don’t see an end to the war that doesn’t include Ukraine having to give up land.
That is all that I said, I actually forgot to add what I wrote in a comment a few days back, where I said that any agreement where Ukraine looses land is bound to lead to a new conflict relatively shortly thereafter.
My earlier comment specifically called out that Ukraine loosing land is unfair.
I truly wish that Ukraine can muster the strength to kick Russia out baldy enough that Russia learn their lesson.
I am a Swede and I smile every time we give more aid, weapons and other related materiels to Ukraine, I gladly pay my taxes for this.
At the same time, if I try to look realistically at the conflict, at this point in time I don’t see Ukraine kicking Russia out, it looks more and more as the end of the current conflict will come in the form of a negotiated peace, if only for a relatively short time.