Putin has reached a dead end in his war with Ukraine, German defense minister says
Photo: Boris Pistorius (Getty Images)
The Russian leader Vladimir Putin has reached a dead end in the war against Ukraine. It is increasingly inflicting damage on Russia, stated German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at the opening of the Ramstein meeting.
"Putin has reached a dead end. His illegal attack on Ukraine continues to cause enormous losses among his troops. The Kremlin can no longer hide the negative effects of this war against Ukraine. Its implications are increasingly felt by the Russian population," he said.
Pistorius emphasized that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls for the resumption of negotiations, but the Russian leader chooses escalation.
"This escalation is directed mostly against Ukraine, but also against our NATO partners on the eastern flank. This is Putin's desperate attempt to distract from his failures on the battlefield," the German minister said.
He noted that support for Kyiv will continue. According to him, this is the only way Ukraine can expand its success on the battlefield.
"We must coordinate our support in order to pull resources. This is what today's UDCG meeting will be about," Pistorius added.
Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that Ukraine has identified its main defense priorities ahead of the Ramstein meeting. According to him, these include strengthening air defense, long-range artillery, and drones.
The G7 countries issued a statement announcing an agreement to increase supplies of air defense systems, anti-aircraft systems, and interceptor missiles to Ukraine. The possibility of transferring licenses to Ukraine for the production of foreign weapons at Ukrainian facilities will also be considered.
