German President Olaf Scholz, 64, showed that not every European country has jumped on the arm Ukraine bandwagon, with Germany not yet signing on to send its Leopard 2 heavy tanks to Ukraine, nor approving the delivery of the same tanks from Finland and Norway, new NATO members. Ukraine’s 44-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked for more advanced weapons to battle the Russian Federation, something that has some EU countries concerned about escalating the conflict beyond Ukraine’s borders. Scholz, for example, would like more time spent on a ceasefire and peace plan than giving Ukraine more advanced weapons to continue to battle the Kremlin. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the Germany is not ready to send its Leopard 2 battle tanks, nor is the U.S. ready to send Ukraine Abrams M1 tanks, giving no date when that might happen.
U.K. Defense Minister Ben Wallace announced last week that his government would be sending Ukraine 14 Challenger tanks, hoping the U.S. and Germany would follow suit. But the reluctance to send heavy tanks to Ukraine stems from the fact there’s too little emphasis placed on ceasefire and peace talks. When 64-year-old Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of State Gen. Mark Miley said there was no military solution to the Ukraine War, it sunk in to certain EU countries. Miley was emphatic that only a political solution could end the Ukraine conflict. Zelensky has been telling U.S. officials, both publicly and privately, that Ukraine can beat back the Russian invasion with more advance weapons. Few have questioned Zelensky’s strategy, telling the U.S. Congress Dec. 21 that Ukraine was not a charity case but an investment in defending democracy on the European Continent.
When Zelensky made his pitch to a joint session of Congress Dec/ 21. 2022, few questioned his strategy to escalate the Ukraine War with more advanced weapons. Zelensky asked the U.S. and NATO from the war’s Feb. 24, 2022 start for a no-fly-zone and troops. He requests were ignored, knowing that a no-fly-zone would put the U.S. and EU into direct conflict with the Russian Federation. No one in the U.S. or EU wants to start WW III or a nuclear war on the European Continent. Zelensky pushed NATO Secretary-Gen. Jens Stoltenberg for “fast-track” membership, something that never happened. While Zelensky wants to take on the Russian Federation, NATO wants no part of Zelensky’s war with the Kremlin. Reluctant to supply heaving tanks to Ukraine, Scholz wants to see more work on the peace front. Most EU powers, especially France, want the conflict moved to end.
Germany’s new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he wants to help Ukraine, including providing training on its Leeopard 2 heavy battle tanks, should a future deal be struck. U.S. and EU officials have crossed many of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s lines supplying advanced weapons, including Patriot Missiles, to Ukraine. Putin said recently that he sees the Ukraine War as a battle with the Western Alliance seeking to break up the Russian Federation. So when it comes to supplying Ukraine more advance weapons, U.S. and EU officials know it risks escalation. Austin said the Abrams M1 tanks are less practical for Ukraine because they run on jet fuel, not diesel more typical of EU or U.K.-made tanks. “Hundreds of thank-yous are not hundreds of tanks,” Zelensky told a live video today. “All of us can use thousands of words in discussions, but I cannot use words instead of guns.”
Pisorius said some EU countries are reluctant to supply Kiev with Leopard 2 tanks because it would signal a major escalation to the Kremlin. ”There is no unified consensus,” Pistorius told reporters. “The impression that has occasionally been created that there is a united coalition and that Germany is standing in the way is wrong,” pointing out that Germany isn’t the only country reluctant to escalate the conflict. Zelensky thinks the more weapons he gets from the U.S. and NATO, the more Ukraine can beat back the Russian occupation. But there’s not one EU or NATO country that thinks that Zelensky’s going to vanquish the Russian Federation. All want to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression but not one EU or NATO country wants to join Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. Growing numbers in the EU wants to see the Ukraine conflict move to the peace table.
Zelensky wants more weapons but he’s consumed with revenge against Putin. Unless Biden or other EU officials spend time counseling Zelensky on a real strategic plan for ending the war, Zelensky will continue to beg for more cash-and-weapons to fight the Kremlin. U.S. and EU officials must let Zelensky know it’s not a strategic plan to seek to topple the Putin government. All the talk in the Western press about Putin’s imminent death or Russia’s bankruptcy is complete rubbish. Zelensky said today that he didn’t know whether Putin was really alive or dead. With talk like that, it’s clear that Zelensky is content to play propaganda games, not develop a real plan to reclaim Ukraine’s lost sovereign territory. As it stands now, Zelensky’s plan is to wreak untold misery on Ukraine all to satisfy his lust for revenge. U.S. and EU officials must help give Zelensky as reality check.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
