Ukraine will likely have to negotiate with Russia on the basis of progress made by the end of this year, current political and military circumstances indicate, Czech President Petr Pavel said Tuesday in Vilnius on the sidelines of a NATO summit.
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“According to Pavel, it is necessary to be ‘realistic’ about the fact that the window of opportunity for Ukrainian territorial gains will more or less close by the end of the year,” ChTK reports.
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At the same time, Pavel noted the successes of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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“Ukraine is slowly gathering territory, they (Ukrainians) are probably still looking for weaknesses in the Russian defense. They still have not connected the significant forces that they have prepared,” the Czech president said.
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According to Pavel, the Russian side has managed to prepare defensive lines and has air superiority. However, the Ukrainians are “much more motivated” and “equipped with better equipment” but lack the ammunition and aircraft to “be really effective,” the president claims.
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According to Pavel, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have little time to advance the front line, not only because it will be more difficult with the onset of winter, but also because of the upcoming elections in the United States, Russia and Ukraine itself, the agency said.
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“We will see a further decrease in readiness to massively support Ukraine with additional weapons. So all these circumstances will probably lead to the fact that what will be achieved by the end of the year will become the starting point for (peace) negotiations,” the agency quoted Pavel as saying.
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The Czech leader believes that, in addition to ammunition and military equipment, Ukraine also needs “support and confidence” – we are talking about future entry into NATO. According to Pavlo, the allies can boost the morale of the Ukrainians by promising to begin the process of accession immediately after the end of hostilities, CTK noted.
