Defeating Russia impossible – German foreign minister

The Ukraine conflict can only end at the negotiating table, Johann Wadephul has said

FILE PHOTO: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul © Global Look Press / IMAGO / dts news agency

Source: Defeating Russia impossible – German foreign minister

The Ukraine conflict can only end at the negotiating table, Johann Wadephul has said

It has been clear from the very beginning of the Ukraine conflict that Russia cannot be defeated, particularly due to its nuclear status, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has told the SZ newspaper.

Kiev’s Western backers, including top officials in Germany, France, and the UK, as well as the US under former President Joe Biden’s administration, repeatedly stated the intent to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow in the Ukraine conflict, or at least to ensure that it does not emerge victorious. That justification has been used to support continued military assistance to Kiev.

Wadephul admitted on Friday that it was obvious the conflict between Moscow and Kiev can only be resolved in a diplomatic way.

“It was clear from the beginning that this war would most likely end through a negotiated settlement,” Germany’s top diplomat told SZ in a lengthy interview.

“One thing is true: a complete defeat in the sense of a capitulation by nuclear-armed Russia could not have been expected,” the minister stated, adding that “we have now become a little more honest” in this regard. He still maintained that Kiev’s troops have been “successfully defending” against Moscow’s forces, although the Ukrainian military has been losing ground along the entire front over the past several months.

The foreign minister maintained it was important to help Kiev get a “strong negotiating position” at peace talks and claimed that Russia was “threatening” Germany as he justified a planned military buildup and increase in defense expenditures. He also said that relations between Moscow and Berlin could no longer be described as a “clear peace situation.”

Berlin has taken an even more hardline position on Russia under new Chancellor Friedrich Merz. In the weeks since taking office, Merz has lifted range restrictions on Ukrainian strikes with German-supplied missiles and hinted at the possibility of providing Kiev with Taurus missiles, which have a range of 500km and could reach Moscow.

Germany has also announced a new military aid package for Kiev worth €5.2 billion ($5.6 billion), which Berlin says would be allocated mostly to long-range weaponry production inside Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reacted to Merz’s statements by saying that Berlin’s “direct involvement in the war is now obvious.” Germany already followed a similar “slippery slope” a couple of times in the last century “down toward its own collapse,” he added.

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Where Americans go catastrophe is sure to follow

When US military commanders have wet dreams of victory, it’s time for them to get a reality check.

Since 1945 and into the cold war era and beyond, US military has not fought nuclear peer power such as Russia or China, and if they did, American forces would be crushed.

US forces were kicked out of Vietnam; left Iraq in shambles; left Afghanistan but forgot to take multi-billions in weapons and supplies which all fell into the hands of the Taliban.

Apparently, American militarists and political elites are so historically ignorant and politically so self-centered, they can’t seem to see that it’s their US national security state empire that’s a threat to world peace.

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25 Jun, 2025 15:43 Russia Today

‘Ukraine can win’ – new NATO commander

PHOTO: Alexus Grynkewich. © AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin

Ukraine can still achieve a military victory over Russia, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe and head of the US European Command, Alexus Grynkewich, said during a US Senate hearing on Tuesday. He was confirmed in his new role with the US-led military bloc earlier this month.

“I believe Ukraine can win,” he responded when asked if Kiev could still prevail despite significant casualties and waning financial support. Grynkewich also noted that Ukrainian forces are displaying a level of tenacity that is hard for outsiders to fully comprehend.

He did not specify what form a Ukrainian victory might take, nor did he provide further detail regarding battlefield prospects.

Top NATO officials have long insisted that Ukraine should aim to defeat Russia militarily. The bloc continues to supply arms and intelligence to Kiev, even as it loses territory to Russian forces.

Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive failed to achieve any meaningful breakthroughs, and a more recent attempted incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region was repelled. Meanwhile, Russian advances have continued along several sectors of the front line, including in the Donetsk and Kharkov regions.

Military analysts and Western officials have increasingly questioned the viability of a Ukrainian victory. Last month, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul claimed that the military defeat of nuclear-armed Russia had been impossible “from the very beginning.”

US President Donald Trump has also repeatedly expressed doubt that Ukraine could secure a military victory over Russia, instead pushing for a negotiated settlement of the conflict.

He has insisted that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” referred to Ukraine as “demolished,” and cautioned that the country may not be able to survive the conflict, even with US support.

Moscow has also repeatedly insisted that its victory is inevitable and has criticized continued Western military aid to Ukraine, arguing that it only prolongs hostilities without affecting their outcome.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed that the conflict will end only when its “root causes” are resolved and his country’s security interests are taken into account. He has also accused Kiev’s foreign backers of being uninterested in actually ending the conflict and using Ukraine to achieve their own goals.

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