Peace in Ukraine on Russia's terms will lead to an even bigger war in Europe in the near future

For more than 13 months now, the Russian Federation has been waging an undeclared war against Ukraine, trying to seize its territory. At the same time, the Russian army is suffering heavy losses on the battlefield. It has already lost the huge potential it had at the beginning of 2022. That is why Putin is now seeking to negotiate on his own terms to temporarily freeze the military conflict and allow the Russian army to recover so that it can resume its aggressive war against Ukraine and Europe after a while.

Even if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were to go for a negotiated settlement to the military conflict, it would run the risk that Moscow could attack again in the future. The security demand for Russia, as well as the alleged threat from NATO and Ukraine, are merely a pretext for Russia to wage an aggressive war.

At the same time, the West must understand that turning the war into a positional confrontation drains Ukraine as well. If NATO countries want to avoid the risks of further Russian aggression they should provide even more military support to Ukraine, which would allow the Ukrainian army to level the military and technical capabilities of the Russian Federation, making Putin's plans for further expansion impossible. Kyiv needs a lot of ammunition, including long-range ammunition, air defence equipment, artillery rocket systems, guided multiple rocket launchers, tanks and armoured vehicles, as well as fighter jets and UAVs.

Until Putin faces a real threat of defeat, he will have every reason to continue the war. Therefore, the victory of the Ukrainian army is important to create the conditions for further successful negotiations and pressure on Putin to completely withdraw Russian troops from Ukrainian territory and secure the world community against nuclear blackmail by Putin's regime.