Ukraine will lose its war against Vladimir Putin unless it manages to change its strategy, the country’s former foreign minister said.
As Russian troops move further into Ukraine at the fastest rate since the war began, speculation that Kyiv might have to accept a peace deal is mounting.
Former Ukrainian minister Dmytro Kuleba – who resigned in September during a reshuffle of the cabinet – told the Financial Times that things “look bad” for Kyiv right now, and it needs to “turn the tables” on Russia or it will lose the war.
He said: “Do we today have the means and tools to turn the tables and change the trajectory of how things are happening? No, we don’t. And if it continues like this, we will lose the war.
“Everyone is asking what Ukraine is ready to do, what Ukraine is ready to accept. And I say, guys, first find the answer to the question [of] what Putin is ready to accept. Because this is the place where the war comes from.”
The UK and the US finally gave Kyiv permission to use their long-range weapons against Russia last month, but critics believe this was not a “silver-bullet” solution which would ensure Putin’s defeat.
Kuleba’s remarks follow a surprising intervention from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, where he told Sky News an offer to join Nato could bring the “hot stage of the war” to an end.
But Kuleba said the defence alliance may still not protect Kyiv as much as Zelenskyy wants, because it relies on the US – and Nato-sceptic Donald Trump will return to the White House in January.
Kuleba claimed: “In reality it is based on one sentence – ‘the United States will defend every inch of the territory of our allies’.
“And this sentence belongs to Biden. What if you have a president who says he’s not going to defend every inch of your territory?… If Trump says anything like that, the Nato shield is gone and Putin will feel free to do whatever he wants.”
The US president-elect claims he will end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of getting back into office – but he has not explained how he intends to do so, sparking fears he will force Ukraine to cede land to Putin.
Kuleba also told Politico last week that he does not believe Trump could organise a peace deal – and definitely not one where Zelenskyy could stand in his role.
He said: “The Russians keep the Donbas, they keep Crimea, no Nato membership. Can Zelenskyy sign? He cannot because of the Constitution. And because it will be the end of Zelenskyy politically.”
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