During a meeting of Ukraine’s defense allies held at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tried to once again get his backers to escalate their entry into the war with Russia.
We can perhaps expect such desperate, harebrained appeals to be floated each day until Trump takes office on January 20. Zelensky wants as much commitment to the war from the West as possible ahead of a Trump administration which has repeatedly vowed to negotiate a swift end to the nearly three-year long conflict.
Zelensky’s newest pitch issued Thursday is for the deployment of Western troops in large numbers to Ukrainian soil. He called this one of the “best instruments” to “force Russia to peace.”
“Our goal is to find as many instruments as possible to force Russia into peace,” he told the meeting of defense representatives.
“I believe that such deployment of partners’ contingents is one of the best instruments,” he emphasized. “Let’s be more practical in making it possible.”
He further acknowledged that Europe is entering a “new chapter” of cooperation and would have “new opportunities” given Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
This was perhaps a way of sugar-coating what for many European officials is cause for deep anxiety and uncertainty. For this reason, Europe has spent many months trying to ‘Trump-proof’ aid to Ukraine in unison with the Biden administration.
“It’s clear that a new chapter starts for Europe and the entire world. Just 11 days from now, a time when we have to cooperate even more, rely on one another even more and achieve even greater results together,” Zelensky said. “I see this as a time of opportunities.”
While Zelensky didn’t get any immediate affirmations that Western troops will suddenly be sent to directly aid his forces in the war, US Secretary of State Lloyd Austin used the occasion to announce the very last aid package of the Biden administration:
Austin on Thursday announced a $500 million in additional weapons and equipment for Kyiv, which officials say will be the final military aid package before Biden leaves office.
He said the package includes additional missiles for Ukrainian air defense, more artillery ammunition, more air-to-ground munitions and equipment to support Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets.
This is unlikely to do much, when by all accounts the real most pressing problem remains manpower woes, and a consistently advancing Russian army in Donetsk.
Zelensky did try to find a positive concerning his war effort during the meeting in Germany, calling the Kursk offensive into Russia one of the “biggest wins, not just last year, but throughout the war.”
Russia confirmed as a last weekend that a new Ukrainian counterattack in the border territory was underway. In the last days the Kremlin has claimed to have significantly dented it while destroying many tanks, assets, and personnel.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/09/2025 – 11:45
