Glückwunsch, Gospodin Putin, Sie haben gewonnen!
Am 13. Februar erklärte US-Verteidigungsminister Pete Hegseth, dass die Verteidigung der Ukraine von nun an in der Verantwortung der Europäer liege, da die USA in andere Probleme verwickelt seien.
Soweit ersichtlich, ist damit das Schicksal der Ukraine besiegelt. Nur Polen und die baltischen Staaten meinen es ernst mit der Hilfe für die Ukraine: Der Rest Europas drückt sich auf unterschiedliche Weise vor seiner Verantwortung.
Deutschland, die Niederlande, Dänemark und Großbritannien leisten nur so viel Hilfe, wie ihre nationalen Haushalte zulassen, ohne den gesetzlichen Rahmen zu sprengen. Frankreich, Italien, Spanien und Österreich leisten zwar verbale Unterstützung, aber kaum konkrete Hilfe.
Weder Pete Hegseth noch seinem Chef Donald Trump kann entgangen sein, dass die Ukraine kapitulieren muss, weil sich die Europäer hinter Haushaltsregeln und angeblich fehlender Rüstungskapazität verstecken, um nicht wirklich helfen zu müssen - im Gegensatz zu den Polen und Balten, die aus Angst vor Russland und aus Überlebenswillen ihr Militär mit viel Geld und Patriotismus aufbauen.
Niemand bezweifelt, dass die europäische Rüstungsindustrie in einem erbärmlichen Zustand ist.
Aber Europa sollte sich nicht hinter seiner angeblichen Unfähigkeit verstecken, schnell und gut zu liefern, was die Ukraine braucht. Es würde reichen, der Ukraine die Mittel in bar zu geben und es Kiew zu überlassen, die benötigten Rüstungsgüter zu kaufen oder selbst herzustellen.
Wahrscheinlich gibt es sogar einen weltweiten Schwarzmarkt für russische Waffen, der billig und schnell Gerät liefert, mit dem die Ukrainer ohnehin vertraut sind.
Aber Europa stellt sich arm und misstraut den Ukrainern.
Ein Fehler, den man nur einmal macht.
Heinrich von LoeschThis marks a definite shift in Russia’s war against Ukraine—with a potential deal between the U.S. and Russia that would have lasting benefits for Putin as he’s given the green light to continue the annexation of the sovereign country he invaded in 2022.
“I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” Trump said in his post. “As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my powerful Campaign motto of, ‘COMMON SENSE.’ We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now.”
Not only did Trump say that he’d begin negotiations “immediately” between the U.S. and Russia, but he also referenced Putin’s use of Trump’s “power campaign motto” of “common sense.”
How does Trump not see that Putin knows how to get what he wants by playing to Trump’s fragile ego and need to be seen as an influential strongman?
An hour later, Trump posted that he had, indeed, spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying on Truth Social that Zelenskyy agreed that Ukraine “wants to make PEACE.”
“It is time to stop this ridiculous War, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION,” Trump added. “God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!”
Zelenskyy took to X after the phone call and said in a video statement, “We believe that America’s stretch is sufficient to pressure Russia and Putin into peace.”
Coincidentally, Trump’s announcements came shortly after the U.S. Department of Defense announced it would capitulate to Russia in drawing Ukraine’s borders. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Ukraine’s pre-invasion borders were “an unrealistic objective” and an “illusionary goal” during his first trip to meet with NATO in Brussels.
The End of War and the Price of Russian Occupation
After three years of grinding war, many of Ukraine’s partners are pushing for a cease-fire with Russia. But Ukrainians remain deeply resistant to these calls for negotiation, not only out of a sense of patriotism but also “because they know there is little chance of survival under Moscow’s rule,” writes the journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk in the forthcoming issue of Foreign Affairs.
Even now, with Ukraine facing mounting casualties and ammunition shortages, “most Ukrainians see continuing to fight as incomparably better than the terror of Russian occupation,” Gumenyuk writes.
BILD quotes Carlo Masala, a professor of international politics at the Bundeswehr University of Munich, who is confident that Putin will try to keep all the occupied territories, avoid further sanctions, and try to attack again in a few years.