Czech leader says Ukraine doesn’t have capacity to regain its lost territories
(MENAFN) Czech President Petr Pavel has stated that Ukraine lacks the capacity to swiftly reclaim its lost territories without suffering severe casualties, emphasizing that the country must focus on maintaining its existence as a sovereign state for now, according to reports.
Pavel, a former chair of NATO’s Military Committee and a strong advocate for Ukraine’s eventual membership in the US-led alliance—even within its current, reduced borders—shared these views during an interview on Monday.
He explained, “Ukraine, even with Western backing, is not in a position to liberate occupied territories in a short time frame without a significant cost to lives.”
The president stressed the importance of Ukraine’s survival, adding, “We want them to survive as an independent sovereign country. If the cost is to accept that part of the territory will be temporarily occupied, then [so] be it.” He also reaffirmed that Western nations will never recognize any former Ukrainian region as part of Russia.
Pavel further noted that military action alone will not bring an end to the conflict, urging the West to strengthen economic and political pressure on Russia. “This war cannot be won on battlefield,” he said. “I believe that it is clearly in the interest of both sides of the Atlantic to exert much greater economic pressure on Russia. Because that’s the set of measures that doesn’t kill. But it’s very powerful when it comes to convincing power.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov recently remarked that Russia has adapted to Western sanctions, which were first imposed in 2014 following the onset of the Ukraine crisis.
The Czech president has consistently called for a realistic assessment of Ukraine’s military capabilities. Earlier this year, he predicted that Kiev’s summer 2023 counteroffensive was doomed from the outset due to insufficient forces.
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