DAVOS, Switzerland: Russia will not win its war in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin must not dictate the terms of any peace agreement, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday.
After failing to seize Ukraine’s capital Kyiv or its second city Kharkiv in its three-month-old war, Russian forces are trying to wrest full control of the eastern Donbas region and have also advanced in the south despite stiff Ukrainian resistance and tough Western sanctions on Moscow.
“Putin must not win his war, and I am convinced he will not win,” Scholz said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos. “A capture of the whole of Ukraine seems further away now than at the beginning of the war.”
Although some have suggested that Ukraine should negotiate with Putin and consider ceding territory, Scholz rejected the idea of letting Putin dictate the terms of an agreement.
“There will be no dictated peace,” Scholz added. “Ukraine will not accept this, and neither will we.”
Putin is only likely to seriously negotiate once he accepts that the war cannot be won, making continued Western support for Ukraine essential, he said.
Scholz, however, did not address Ukrainian demands for the delivery of more heavy weapons to Kyiv, despite concrete requests by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Davos on Wednesday.
Kyiv has been seeking to acquire German Marder infantry fighting vehicles and ideally also Leopard main battle tanks but has not made significant headway with the government in Berlin, Kuleba said.
Hoping to weaken Russia’s economy and thus its ability to wage war, Scholz said Germany would end imports of Russian oil by the end of 2022 and also reduce its reliance on Russian gas.
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Putin won’t be allowed to dictate Ukraine peace terms: German chancellor
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Putin won’t be allowed to dictate Ukraine peace terms: German chancellor
- Vladimir Putin will not be allowed to dictate peace in Ukraine, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz said
UK to deploy aircraft carrier group to Arctic this year: PM
- The HMS Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy’s largest warship
MUNICH, Germany: The UK will deploy its aircraft carrier group to the North Atlantic this year in a “powerful show of force” against Russian threats in the Arctic, British officials said Saturday.
“I can announce today that the UK will deploy our carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and the High North this year, led by HMS Prince of Wales, operating alongside the US, Canada and other NATO allies in a powerful show of our commitment to Euro-Atlantic security,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the Munich security conference.
The group will include Royal Navy warships, F-35 jets and helicopters in what has been dubbed “Operation Firecrest,” the ministry of defense said in a statement.
It will be a “powerful show of force … to deter Russian aggression and protect vital undersea infrastructure.”
The HMS Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy’s largest warship and US aircraft are also expected to operate from its deck.
The operation will involve thousands of personnel from all three services of the Armed Forces, the MoD statement added.
“The deployment will include activity under NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission, launched this week, strengthening the Alliance’s security in a region where melting sea ice is opening new routes and increasing threat from hostile state activity,” the ministry said.
France has also announced that it will deploy its aircraft carrier group in the region in 2026.
Starmer told the Munich conference that Britain must be “ready to fight.”
Leaders must not dither as “Russia has proved its appetite for aggression,” he said.
“The road ahead is straight and it is clear. We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age,” he added.
“We must be able to deter aggression, and, yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight.”
The defense ministry said the deployment would reinforce “NATO’s deterrence at a time of rising Russian threats in the region.”
It added that “over the past two years, there has been a 30 percent increase in Russian navy vessels threatening UK waters.”
US President Donald Trump has also unnerved European countries by saying Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic, should come under US control.
Trump said last month however that an understanding had been reached with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte that would give the United States greater influence in the mineral-rich and strategically placed territory.
“I can announce today that the UK will deploy our carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and the High North this year, led by HMS Prince of Wales, operating alongside the US, Canada and other NATO allies in a powerful show of our commitment to Euro-Atlantic security,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the Munich security conference.
The group will include Royal Navy warships, F-35 jets and helicopters in what has been dubbed “Operation Firecrest,” the ministry of defense said in a statement.
It will be a “powerful show of force … to deter Russian aggression and protect vital undersea infrastructure.”
The HMS Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy’s largest warship and US aircraft are also expected to operate from its deck.
The operation will involve thousands of personnel from all three services of the Armed Forces, the MoD statement added.
“The deployment will include activity under NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission, launched this week, strengthening the Alliance’s security in a region where melting sea ice is opening new routes and increasing threat from hostile state activity,” the ministry said.
France has also announced that it will deploy its aircraft carrier group in the region in 2026.
Starmer told the Munich conference that Britain must be “ready to fight.”
Leaders must not dither as “Russia has proved its appetite for aggression,” he said.
“The road ahead is straight and it is clear. We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age,” he added.
“We must be able to deter aggression, and, yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight.”
The defense ministry said the deployment would reinforce “NATO’s deterrence at a time of rising Russian threats in the region.”
It added that “over the past two years, there has been a 30 percent increase in Russian navy vessels threatening UK waters.”
US President Donald Trump has also unnerved European countries by saying Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic, should come under US control.
Trump said last month however that an understanding had been reached with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte that would give the United States greater influence in the mineral-rich and strategically placed territory.
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