Ukraine war: Here is what Brussels doesn't want to talk about
The EU is fully occupied with securing 50 billion euros for Ukraine. But it doesn't want to talk about the situation in the war. The bad news is piling up.
A glance at the international press is enough: "The war has never been so dangerous," says the New York Times. The Ukrainian troops are exhausted.
"Ukraine's War Effort Is Stuck. This Heroic Battlefield Failure Shows Why", reports the Wall Street Journal (full text in the archive). Ukraine is stuck.
Ukraine is said to have lost 500,000 soldiers since the start of the war. This is according to former Ukrainian Interior Minister and Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko.
The prospects are not good either. There is not only a lack of air defence, which is why there was a crisis meeting at NATO. The promised F-16 fighter jets are also a long time coming.
However, nobody in Brussels wants to draw the obvious conclusion that the war can no longer be won and that a negotiated solution must be sought. The subject is taboo.
Only the Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has said that it is time to use diplomacy to pave the way for peace between Russia and Ukraine.
The Ukrainian counter-offensive in 2023 had not brought the desired result and the military situation had to be viewed with "realism", he said.
"From this perspective ... the time seems to have come for decisive diplomacy, in addition to military support. Because there are a number of important signals from both sides," Crosetto added.
That would be nice. There is no talk of these signals in Brussels. The EU is closing its eyes and ears to the debacle. Chancellor Scholz prefers to demand even more weapons from his EU partners.
The special summit on 1 February is therefore likely to be dominated by the planned 50 billion euro aid and further armament. Nobody wants to ask the sensible question, and there is no recognisable strategy.
Instead of seeking a sensible solution, EU Commissioner Breton wants to prepare the Union for a permanent confrontation with Russia. He is calling for a 100 billion euro armaments fund...
This is the english version of the blogpost “Ukraine-Krieg: Darüber will die EU nicht reden”. The original post (in German) is here