"Freezing" war to allow Russia to fortify its positions with concrete and attack NATO – Kuleba
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, believes that if the hostilities in Ukraine are "frozen" now, Russia will use this pause to prepare for a more brutal attack, including on NATO member states. He expressed such thoughts in his article for Foreign Affairs.
The Foreign Minister noted that some analysts currently believe that freezing the war by establishing a ceasefire is a realistic option. However, he said, instead of ending the war, the ceasefire would simply suspend hostilities until Russia is ready to make another push deeper into the country.
Kuleba believes that "freezing the war" would allow the Russian occupiers to fortify their positions with concrete and minefields, making it almost impossible to expel them in the future.
Russia's budget for the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine for 2024 in the amount of 3.2 trillion Russian rubles (about $35 billion) is a clear indication of Moscow's plan "to dig in for the long haul and suppress resistance to Russian occupation authorities."
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"If the frontline were frozen now, there is no reason to believe that Russia would not use such a respite to plan a more brutal attack in a few years, potentially involving not only Ukraine but also neighboring countries and even NATO members," Kuleba noted.
For those who do not believe that Russia can attack NATO countries, the foreign minister reminded them of the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"Those who believe Russia will not attack a NATO country after celebrating success in Ukraine should recall how unimaginable a large-scale invasion of Ukraine seemed just two years ago," he added.
On October 12, 2023, Foreign Minister Kuleba said that Russia should not be allowed to freeze the war, as it is using the pause to recuperate and not only Ukraine will be threatened by a new wave of aggression.
On November 8, the U.S. State Department says that Washington is not pushing Kyiv to hold any talks with Russia.
On December 6, 2023, US President Joe Biden appealed to Congress to approve additional funding for assistance to the Armed Forces. He emphasized that Putin will go further if he is not stopped in Ukraine – and then the American military will fight with the Russian.
On December 11, the second president, Leonid Kuchma, announced that dictator Putin would not sign a peace agreement with Ukraine.
On December 13, President Zelenskyy ruled out territorial concessions to Russia and reminded that Ukrainians regularly suffer from Russian terror in the occupied territories.