Kiev is not receiving sufficient funds for weapons production, the Ukrainian leader has said
The West is not providing Ukraine with sufficient financial and military support, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has complained, despite Kiev’s backers having already approved massive aid packages and loans.
In a Friday post on Telegram, Zelensky lamented that “air defense is not enough now, weapons are not enough now,” adding that “frankly, there is a constant shortage of money, in particular, for the production of weapons and, most importantly, drones,” even despite a recent decision by the EU to provide Kiev with a huge loan.
“We need to be strong at the negotiating table. To be strong, we need the support of the world – Europe and the United States of America,” Zelensky added.
The appeal for additional funding comes as the EU approved a €90 billion ($105 billion) loan this month to cover Kiev for 2026-2027, which will cost European taxpayers €3 billion ($3.5 billion) in borrowing costs annually. However, the bloc failed to agree on using frozen Russian assets to assist Ukraine due to staunch opposition from several EU members – most notably Belgium, which holds most of the funds – that were concerned about the overwhelming legal risks involved.
The loan aims to prop up Ukraine’s struggling economy, with the International Monetary Fund estimating that Ukraine will need approximately $160 billion for 2026 and 2027 combined. For 2026 alone, Ukraine’s parliament adopted a budget with a deficit of around $45 billion, or 18.5% of GDP. The financial conundrum has also been exacerbated by Ukraine’s endemic corruption.
On top of that, Mikhail Podoliak, a senior adviser to Zelensky, said this week that Ukraine cannot finance potential elections due to the budget deficit, stressing that Kiev should prioritize “militarization” efforts instead. Earlier this month, he also indicated that a vote could only take place provided the West steps in to cover the costs.
Commenting on Podoliak’s remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Kiev “resorts to all sorts of tricks” to obtain Western funding. Moscow has also warned the EU that any assistance for Kiev would be essentially covered by ordinary taxpayers.
Federal Employment Agency warns prospects for finding a job have dropped to record lows
Prospects for finding a job in Germany have fallen to their lowest level on record, according to the head of the Federal Employment Agency, Andrea Nahles.
Speaking to DW News on Friday, Nahles said the job placement indicator, which normally stands at around seven points, has fallen to 5.7, calling it “the lowest ever.”
She described the labor market as having been “like a plank for months,” with “no momentum coming in.” Nahles added that prospects are particularly weak for new job market entrants, adding that even well-qualified workers are no longer fully shielded from job losses.
“We have placed as few young people into apprenticeships as at any time in the past 25 years,” the official said.
Her remarks come amid the economic downturn that followed Berlin’s decision to halt imports of low-cost Russian energy, which had been vital for German industry. European gas prices surged after Russian pipeline deliveries largely stopped and the Nord Stream pipelines were sabotaged.
Business bankruptcies rose to an 11-year high during the first three quarters of the year, contributing to rising job losses. The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) estimates that around 170,000 positions have been affected in 2025, up from fewer than 100,000 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unemployment surpassed the three million mark in August, and more than 100,000 more people entered the job market in November than in the same period last year.
According to the German Economic Institute (IW), the economy has entered a state of “shock” due to weak foreign demand, high interest rates, and a prolonged energy crisis. After an initial forecast of contraction, GDP is now expected to post modest growth of just 0.2%, with only 0.9% predicted for 2026.
In mid-December, the government approved reforms to unemployment benefits, replacing the existing system after three years with a new basic income framework. The changes introduce stricter requirements and tougher sanctions for recipients, with the stated aim of accelerating job placement.
The capture of Gulaypole opens the way for further advances in Russia’s Zaporozhye Region, the president has said
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the military for liberating Gulaypole, a strategic town in Zaporozhye Region. The achievement opens the way for further advances in the area, the president told the top brass on Saturday during a visit to one of the command posts.
Earlier in the day, the Defense Ministry reported that the Russian troops had successfully taken a large Ukrainian fortified zone centered around the town and published a video showing the Russian advances.
The clip shows the Russian military shelling Ukrainian positions in the town, and later storming the buildings. The video ends with the soldiers posing with Russian national flags in various parts of Gulaypole.
According to the ministry, the troops established control over a territory of more than 76 square kilometers and cleared over 7,000 buildings. The Ukrainian forces in the area suffered heavy losses and lost dozens of pieces of heavy equipment, as well as various vehicles. Kiev has disputed the loss of the town, but acknowledged that the situation is difficult.
During the Saturday meeting, Putin said capturing the town was “an important result,” adding that the liberation of Gulaypole opens “good prospects for further advancements in Zaporozhye Region.”
The generals also informed the president about finishing mop-up operations in the city of Dmitrov (also known as Mirnograd in Ukraine) in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Earlier, Ukrainian forces in the city were encircled as Russian troops liberated the nearby city of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk). The president called the development “an important step towards the full liberation of the DPR.”
Russia’s forces have been on the offensive for many months, taking dozens of settlements in the new regions, as well as in Ukraine’s Kharkov, Sumy and Dnepropetrovsk Regions. In particular, Moscow’s troops took the major logistical hubs of Krasnoarmeysk in the DPR, and Kupyansk in Kharkov Region.
Earlier this month, the Defense Ministry also reported liberating the former Ukrainian stronghold of Seversk in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
The US president’s close aides reportedly feel that the Israeli prime minister is deliberately stalling the Gaza peace process
Officials in US President Donald Trump’s closest circle no longer believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can be trusted to push forward with the Gaza peace plan, Axios reported on Friday, citing insiders.
The future of Trump’s grand Gaza war settlement roadmap, unveiled in September, hinges on his upcoming meeting with the Israeli leader on Monday, according to the outlet.
Last week, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with officials from Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye to finalize the next step of the plan, which envisions Hamas disarming and Israel pulling out of Gaza.
Netanyahu has privately expressed skepticism about the roadmap, but the plan cannot go ahead without his buy-in, Axios said.
“Bibi is trying to convince a one-man audience,” the outlet cited a White House official as saying. “The question is whether Trump will side with him or with his top advisers when it comes to Gaza.”
Key figures in Trump’s team have now lost trust in Netanyahu, fearing he is “slow-walking the peace process” and could resume the war with Hamas after taking steps to undermine the fragile ceasefire, according to Axios.
The Israeli PM has “lost” Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and both Kushner and Witkoff, the outlet wrote, citing another US official.
“The only one he has left is the president, who still likes him, but even he wants to see the Gaza deal moving faster than it is right now.”
Trump is expected to press Netanyahu to move past the Gaza war, as well as raise the issue of Israel’s push into the occupied West Bank, according to Axios.
West Jerusalem officially approved the construction of nearly a dozen new controversial Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory earlier this week, drawing international condemnation.
On top of losing trust within the White House, Netanyahu’s government has taken a beating in the domestic approval polls. Only a quarter of Israeli Jews trust their government, and only 17% of the country’s Arabs, according to an Israel Democracy Institute poll published earlier this week.
Men are undertaking dangerous journeys through the wilderness to escape the country, according to the American broadcaster
Ukrainian men are risking deadly border crossings to avoid mobilization as Kiev struggles with chronic manpower shortages, CNN has reported, citing interviews with draft-dodgers who fled to Romania.
More than 30,000 people have crossed over into Romania alone since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the US broadcaster wrote earlier this week, adding that over 25,000 have been caught by Ukrainian border guards. “Many more flee to Moldova, Hungary, Belarus and other countries,” CNN added.
Kiev has been facing chronic manpower shortages throughout its conflict with Moscow amid high battlefield losses, massive draft dodging, and desertion. The last publicly available official data showed nearly 290,000 desertion cases in Ukraine since 2022.
Ukraine has barred nearly all adult men from leaving the country and lowered the draft age from 27 to 25. Nearly 100,000 young men have reportedly fled the country since August, when the Ukrainian government issued a decree allowing men aged 18 to 22 to cross the border.
One man contacted by CNN said he lost all his toes to frostbite during an attempt to cross into Romania. He said another draft dodger who went with him froze to death in a snowstorm.
“They would rather die on the mountains trying to escape than in the war,” a Romanian man in charge of rescue missions at the border told CNN, referring to Ukrainians he had met.
Kiev’s recruitment drive has grown increasingly brutal as hundreds of incidents have been documented in which enlistment officers assaulted potential conscripts, chased them through the streets, and threatened bystanders who tried to intervene.
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that the Ukrainian authorities want as many as 2 million new draftees in early 2026. Draft officials were told to “tighten the screws to a maximum,” she added.
Washington as mediator, not belligerent: the US strategy upended the Western bloc
If there were a competition for “Breaking the Mould of the Year,” the United States would be the runaway winner in 2025. At the start of the year, few expected Donald Trump’s return to the White House to trigger such sharp shifts. Yet one of the biggest surprises has been Washington’s change of course on Ukraine.
The US has moved from being Kiev’s closest political patron to a calculating actor focused squarely on its own interests. The rhetoric of Russia’s “unconditional defeat” has been discarded in favour of negotiations and compromise. If Ukraine has become a loss-making asset in America’s geopolitical portfolio, Trump has signalled, then the loss must be recognised.
This has produced a series of gestures that shocked many Western observers: the public humiliation of the Ukrainian leader in Washington, demands that Kiev pay for military aid, a slowdown in sanctions policy, and the much-discussed summit in Alaska. The conflict has not been resolved, but the door to diplomacy has been left ajar. Moscow supports negotiations, but does not intend to retreat from its positions. The Russian army is advancing, and time, from Moscow’s point of view, works in its favour.
Another dramatic break with past practice has been Trump’s decision to launch a trade war against more than seventy countries. Only China responded with serious counter-measures. Beijing imposed retaliatory tariffs and strengthened its negotiating hand by introducing export controls on rare-earth metals vital to the US economy, while at the same time seeking a negotiated de-escalation.
India also refused to bend. US tariffs on its purchases of Russian oil barely affected Delhi’s stance. The same is broadly true of Brazil. In several cases Washington applied tariffs for openly political reasons, even where the trade balance was to its advantage. Trade measures increasingly took on the character of sanctions; occasionally they were accompanied by military strikes, although the White House avoided sliding into a full-scale confrontation with Iran.
Perhaps the most unexpected development has been the deepening estrangement between the US and its traditional allies. Trump’s revived talk of buying Greenland, part of Denmark, was symbolic in that respect. So too was Vice-President JD Vance’s criticism of European democracy, suggesting that “Trumpism” in foreign policy is no longer confined to Trump himself. The new US National Security Strategy urges Western Europe to return to its civilisational roots, warns of the risks of war with Russia, and casts Washington less as a belligerent and more as a mediator. Even the EU has found itself targeted by American tariffs.
For Brussels, this turn was disorienting. While Western Europe was still marching toward confrontation with Russia, its key ally abruptly stepped aside. In response, EU institutions clung to the old paradigm of “war to the bitter end” and unconditional support for Kiev. Brussels introduced three new sanctions packages against Moscow, but they had no discernible impact on Russia’s strategic course.
Of course, the contradictions inside the Western bloc should not be exaggerated. Binding military and political commitments remain in place, and previous eras have also seen friction. But the current rupture feels deeper than anything since the 1930s. The shifts underway clearly extend beyond Trump’s personality and the short-term political cycle, and they may yet reshape the broader architecture of Euro-Atlantic relations.
This article was first published by Kommersant, and was translated and edited by the RT team.
Kiev is in “no rush” to resolve the conflict peacefully even in the face of decent proposals, the Russian president has said
Ukraine has been offered “decent” peace terms by “smart people” in the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. However, Kiev continues to ignore such proposals, forcing Moscow to continue its military operation, he told Russia’s top military brass during a visit to a command post on Saturday.
The president did not specify who made the proposal or outline its details. He said that the conditions involved “good framework security guarantees,” an economic recovery scheme, and a roadmap for restoring relations with Russia.
“We see, unfortunately, that the leaders of the Kiev regime are still in no rush to resolve the conflict peacefully,” Putin said. The president made his remarks as the military reported having liberated the strategic town of Gulaypole in Zaporozhye Region and a number of other settlements in its latest successful push.
Putin then noted that Russia’s rapid advances make Kiev’s willingness to agree to any compromises almost irrelevant. “If the Kiev authorities do not want to end it peacefully, we will achieve all the goals… of the Special Military Operation through military means,” he said.
His words came just as Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky demanded more funding and weapons from his Western backers by stating that the Ukrainian forces lack air defenses and armaments. He also maintained that Ukraine suffers from a “constant deficit of money” while framing Russia as some global threat.
The Ukrainian leader announced that he will meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss a peace framework. Ahead of the meeting, which is expected to take place on Sunday in Florida, he revealed a 20-point plan he claimed Kiev had discussed with the US.
Moscow dismissed the plan as a non-starter. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Friday it was “radically different” from the proposals discussed by Russia and the US. He also warned that, although Moscow is “fully ready” to resolve the conflict, Kiev and its European backers are seeking to “torpedo” the peace process.
Strategic weapons, asymmetric tactics, and the combat breakthroughs that defined the year
In 2025, we witnessed a clear acceleration of the global arms race. Escalatory rhetoric in Europe, sustained support for Ukraine’s armed forces, and Trump’s so-called “golden” defense initiatives – backed by tens of billions of dollars – have fundamentally reshuffled the pieces on the world’s geopolitical chessboard. Political confrontation is increasingly giving way to direct competition between military programs, and simply keeping pace now requires enormous resources.
There is, however, another path: choosing response options that operate on a different plane altogether – ones that are asymmetric by design and exploit the technological assumptions and vulnerabilities of the opposing side. Russia has identified and begun developing precisely such solutions, without abandoning investment in traditional weapons systems. What follows is an overview of the military counterbalance that had taken shape by the end of 2025 in response to these new challenges.
A fully asymmetric – and fundamentally strategic – answer to Trump’s “golden” initiatives lies in Russia’s development of next-generation weapons systems. In late 2025, two major announcements drew attention to strategic systems powered by onboard nuclear energy sources: the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile with effectively unlimited range, and the Poseidon nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle. By the end of October 2025, both systems had demonstrated, during testing, the ability to operate autonomously using their onboard nuclear power units.
The emergence of such unprecedented systems became possible due to breakthrough advances by Russian nuclear scientists in the 1990s and 2000s, as well as the extraordinary efforts of designers, manufacturers, and test engineers. In practical terms, these platforms mark the birth of entirely new classes of nuclear strategic deterrence systems – capabilities no other country in the world has possessed to date, and likely will not for quite some time. This is a decisive trump card in the new phase of confrontation.
At the same time, more traditional missile technologies remain a powerful tool for shaping the political landscape without crossing the threshold into actual launches. In late December 2025, it was announced that plans to place the first units equipped with the Oreshnik medium-range strategic missile system on combat duty were nearing implementation. Minsk has stated that up to ten such systems will be deployed in Belarus. At the same time, it is highly likely that one of the first Oreshnik divisions will be based at the Kapustin Yar test range.
Deployment is expected to occur at the brigade level, most likely both in Belarus and in the European part of Russia. The system is equipped with hypersonic ballistic missiles that can be used in non-nuclear configurations. As such, Oreshnik may become the first non-nuclear deterrent system of pan-European significance: with a range of up to 5,000 kilometers, it can reach any target on the continent.
Work also continues on preparing the deployment and completing testing of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile – a heavy, liquid-fueled ICBM designed to replace the legacy Voevoda system and widely regarded as the most powerful missile of its kind in the world. In parallel, the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology is likely developing new solid-fuel missiles to replace both mobile and silo-based Topol-M ICBMs. By 2026, the earliest deployed Topol-M systems will be 29 years old, and their replacement is already on the horizon.
FILE PHOTO. Launch of a Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, Arkhangelsk Region, Russia.
Russia’s nuclear triad consists of three components: land-based missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and long-range aviation. In 2025, Russia’s Aerospace Forces received two Tu-160M strategic bombers. Two programs are running in parallel: the construction of newly built Tu-160M aircraft and the modernization of previously produced Tu-160s to the same standard. Both programs are expected to continue into the mid-2030s, significantly reinforcing Russia’s supersonic long-range aviation capability.
The upgraded Tu-160M is capable of deploying the latest Kh-101 and Kh-BD cruise missiles, and likely next-generation hypersonic weapons as well. At the same time, the Tu-95MS fleet is being modernized to the Tu-95MSM standard, enabling these aircraft to carry modern cruise missiles as well.
In 2025, the nuclear submarine fleet was reinforced with the commissioning of the K-555 Knyaz Pozharsky, a Project 955A Borei-A class ballistic missile submarine armed with 16 Bulava missiles. Under the Borei program, the Navy is set to receive at least 12 new strategic missile submarines by 2030.
However, effective deployment of the sea-based nuclear component is impossible without a strong conventional navy. Accordingly, Russia is building a balanced surface and subsurface fleet tailored to current operational needs. Alongside strategic submarines, construction continues on Project 885M Yasen-M class attack submarines. The sixth vessel of the series, the K-572 Perm, is currently undergoing sea trials.
These are among the most advanced submarines in the world, capable of deploying Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missiles. By 2030, the Navy plans to field a total of 12 Yasen-class submarines. Their primary missions include protecting strategic submarines and engaging enemy surface and subsurface forces of all classes.
Meanwhile, the future flagship of the Russian Navy – the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov (Project 11442M) – has entered sea trials. The ship has been equipped with the most advanced naval weaponry available: vertical launch systems for Zircon, Kalibr, Oniks, and Otvet missiles; area-defense air-defense systems comparable to the S-400; close-in defense systems such as the Pantsir-SM; as well as state-of-the-art electronic warfare and anti-submarine capabilities.
FILE PHOTO. The nuclear-powered battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov at the Sevmash shipyard pier, Severodvinsk, Russia.
This unique vessel, modernized by shipbuilders in Severodvinsk, is expected to enter operational service after the completion of trials, likely in 2026.
Russia’s Arctic interests also require dedicated protection. To that end, specialized ice-class combat ships are being developed. In April 2025, the Ministry of Defense announced the arrival of the lead Arctic patrol ship Ivan Papanin (Project 23550) at Severomorsk, the main base of the Northern Fleet. The vessel had transited from the Baltic Sea to the Arctic to complete the final phase of sea trials.
Ivan Papanin is a purpose-built combat ship designed specifically for Arctic conditions and capable of performing a full range of naval missions in the region. Construction of additional ships in this class is ongoing.
Air and space forces remain another critical priority. Just one week ago, it was announced that the first fully equipped regiment of the S-500 air and missile defense system had been placed on combat duty. This unique defensive system is capable of intercepting all types of aerospace threats, including ballistic missiles.
Tactical aviation is also expanding. Since 2023, production rates of the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter have increased. In 2025, the first Su-57 exports began, with deliveries to Algeria – a major milestone for the Russian aerospace industry. Development of the platform continues: in December, a Su-57 equipped with the new Izdeliye 177 engine completed its maiden flight. This engine is expected to power all export versions of the Su-57E.
FILE PHOTO. Demonstration flight of the Su-57E fifth-generation multirole fighter jet at Airshow China 2024 in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China.
The aircraft is actively employed in the special military operation and is being prepared for expanded export deliveries, with positive developments likely in the near future.
Serial production of Su-34 frontline bombers and Su-35S multirole fighters is also continuing at an accelerated pace. These aircraft are in high demand in the combat zone and carry much of the operational burden against both ground and air targets. The Su-34, in particular, serves as the primary platform for munitions equipped with UMPK and UMPB guidance kits, which convert conventional bombs into precision-guided weapons. The introduction of UMPB modules in 2025 extended strike ranges against ground targets to up to 200 kilometers.
The battlefield of the future is already here
Deliveries of advanced ground systems to the combat zone are also expanding. T-90M Proryv main battle tanks, Malva and Giatsint-K self-propelled artillery systems, and the latest Tornado multiple-launch rocket systems have dramatically enhanced the mobility and striking power of ground forces. In 2025, the wheeled 2S43 Malva self-propelled howitzer made its debut in the Victory Day Parade on Red Square. Armed with a 152-mm gun comparable to that of the Msta-S, the system offers high mobility and increased automation in artillery fire control. Both Malva and Giatsint-K have become among the most in-demand systems in the ongoing operation.
FILE PHOTO. Crew of a T-90M Proryv tank at positions in the southern sector of the Special Military Operation.
Finally, modern ground forces require drones – and this is a top priority. Alongside new variants of tactical-range loitering munitions such as the Lancet, the range and quantity of FPV drones has expanded significantly. Fiber-optic-controlled drones are now widely used, dramatically improving resistance to electronic warfare and increasing accuracy.
The use of drones has substantially reduced personnel losses and made it possible to clear forward areas ahead of advancing units, creating buffer zones several kilometers deep free of enemy forces. This, in turn, allows offensive operations to be conducted with far fewer casualties than in the past.
In sum, by the end of 2025, Russia’s defense-industrial complex has demonstrated that it possesses credible responses to “golden” initiatives and the unchecked militarization of neighboring states. The sector is expanding both qualitatively and quantitatively. Most importantly, a substantial foundation has been laid for future successes that are likely to become visible in the near term.
Anti-graft agencies have said that they have uncovered an illegal lobbying scheme in parliament following an undercover operation
Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities say they have uncovered a criminal vote-rigging and bribery scheme involving serving members of the country’s parliament, following an undercover operation.
The development comes ahead of a meeting between Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in Florida.
Kiev is still reeling from a major corruption scandal in state nuclear operator Energoatom, involving Zelensky’s longtime associate, Timur Mindich. Two ministers and the Ukrainian leader’s influential chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, were ousted in the wake of the revelations.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) exposed an organized criminal enterprise involving serving MPs, the agencies reported on Saturday.
“According to the investigation, the group’s members systematically received illicit benefits in exchange for voting in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,” NABU said in a statement on Telegram.
Members of Ukraine’s State Security Administration, a law enforcement agency subordinate to the Ukrainian presidency and the Rada, were “illegally” interfering with NABU agents during the ongoing investigation, the anti-graft agency noted.
On Saturday, NABU reportedly conducted searches in the Rada’s Transport Committee, which is led by Yuri Kisel, a member of Zelensky’s ruling party.
Earlier in December, Ukrainian outlet ZN.ua reported that anti-graft agencies discovered an illegal lobbying “cash window” after wire-tapping the MP over the course of two years.
NABU and SAPO began their broader crackdown earlier this year, with their revelations on a $100 million kickback scheme in Energoatom.
While the investigation implicated the Ukrainian leader’s close aides and former associates, Zelensky has distanced himself from the scandal.
However, nearly 40% of Ukrainians believe the Ukrainian leader is implicated in corruption, according to a recent Socis poll.
The country’s leadership has long devolved into a “criminal gang that holds power for personal enrichment,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week. It’s clear that the corrupt and out-of-touch officials in Kiev no longer care about “the fate of common people in Ukraine or the fate of ordinary soldiers,” he stressed.
Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of any NATO troop deployment to the country’s territory
Berlin must send troops to Ukraine as part of a potential peace settlement, according to Manfred Weber, the leader of the European People’s Party (EPP) – a political group with the biggest faction in the EU Parliament. Brussels cannot rely on Washington to secure peace between Moscow and Kiev, the politician told Funke Media Group in an interview published this week.
Moscow has repeatedly rejected the idea of any NATO presence in Ukraine. It also named the US-led bloc’s expansion to the East one of the root causes of the conflict.
Kiev’s Western backers, including France and the UK have occasionally raised the issue of NATO troop deployment to Ukraine throughout the conflict. The plan was given another impetus earlier this month at the talks in Berlin, where US officials met with the Ukrainian delegation, the leaders of Germany, France, the UK, and eight other European countries.
”We cannot seriously expect Trump to secure a peace settlement solely with American troops. And when we talk about European troops, Germany cannot be left out,” Weber said. “After a ceasefire or a peace agreement, the European flag must fly along the [contact] line.”
He also claimed he did not “see” the Russian leadership “pursuing the path of peace” and called on Kiev’s European backers to demonstrate strength.
Moscow has repeatedly stated it is ready and willing to resolve the conflict peacefully as long as the other side demonstrates a similar commitment and the root causes of the crisis are addressed. On Friday, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that the conflict resolution was “really close” but warned that Kiev and its European backers are actively trying to “torpedo” the peace process.
The Trump administration has not confirmed the extent of its support for the European plan. Weber also called on the EU to act independently from the US in security matters, prompting the NATO head, Mark Rutte, to warn that creating alternatives to the bloc would not benefit its European members.
