Ukraine war: German chancellor sends a stern message to Russian President Putin
Premium- The costs for Putin and his apparatus are enormous, and they continue to rise each day, German chancellor said on Ukraine war
Russia will not win the war in Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said today, assessing that the Russian president Vladimir Putin has already failed in all of his strategic aims. Russia's plan to capture all of Ukraine is "further away today than it was at the beginning" of its invasion on February 24 as Ukraine put up an impressive defence, Scholz told Davos World Economic Forum.
"Our goal is crystal clear -- Putin must not win this war. And I am convinced that he will not win it," said the German chancellor.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday at Davos said peace negotiations with Russia are going “nowhere" and compared Moscow’s offensive in the eastern Donbas region to a World War II battle.
“Tanks, artillery, combat helicopters, air attacks, multiple-launch rocket systems, everything is involved," Kuleba said during a Q&A at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “When you are conducting an operation like this you basically say no to negotiations."
Here are the highlights of what German chancellor Olaf Scholz said at Davos:
-The costs for Putin and his apparatus are enormous, and they continue to rise each day
-We must make Putin realize that there will not be a dictated peace, Ukraine won't accept it - and we either
-Putin must not win his war in Ukraine, and I am convinced that he will not win
-Putin will only seriously negotiate over peace once he realizes that he cannot break Ukraine's defence
The German chancellor earlier this month said that European Union must make preparations for rebuilding Ukraine after the war by setting up a solidarity fund to help cover the billions of euros reconstruction will cost.
"Rebuilding destroyed infrastructure and revitalising the Ukrainian economy will cost billions," he said. "We as the EU must start laying the ground for a solidarity fund financed by contributions from the EU and its partners."