Ukraine may lose to Russia without arms from West: Poland's Duda
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Polish President Andrzej Duda says Ukraine would not have been able to remain standing against Russia if it were not for military assistance from the West.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish President Andrzej Duda hug each other as they meet in Kiev, Ukraine on August 23, 2022 (Reuters)
Russia can defeat Ukraine if the West and its allies do not provide Kiev with urgent military assistance, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Sunday.
"Yes, they can, if Ukraine does not receive urgent assistance," Duda told French newspaper Le Figaro, upon being asked if Russia could win the war against Ukraine.
Furthermore, Duda said that Western countries and their allies should send more military equipment to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
Member of the German Parliament for The Left Party Sahra Wagenknecht told die Welt newspaper on Friday that Germany, the US, France, and the EU have only been making unrealistic demands, noting that only the Vatican has expressed its desire for peace so far. A neutral status for Ukraine and creating a de-militarized zone in contested regions, followed by referendums on their territorial affiliation, would be more realistic.
"If such a proposal had been made, and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would have refused to even discuss it, then it would be possible to talk about a different path. But how can you say that Russians do not want negotiations if such an offer is not even on the table?" she asked.
It is worth noting that a couple of days ago, the German government approved supplying Ukraine with Leopard 1 tanks over the summer and by next year according to reports by Der Spiegel magazine.
On February 3, Berlin voted to approve private arms maker Rheinmetall’s plan to deliver 88 Leopard 1s to Ukraine after maintenance work is completed.
On January 25, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz issued the announcement that Berlin would supply Kiev with 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks as part of a European coalition.
Moreover, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Thursday that she did not rule out providing Kiev with combat jets to send a clear message of support to Ukraine.
Additionally, the Pentagon announced a new rocket-propelled precision bomb that may nearly increase Kiev's strike range against the Russians as part of a new $2.2 billion US arms deal for Ukraine.
According to several Ukrainian officials, Kiev's forces require the United States and its allies to provide them with coordinates and confirm them for the overwhelming majority of missile strikes on Russian targets.
The practice, previously kept veiled, reveals that the Pentagon and Kiev's western allies are playing a bigger role in the Ukraine war.
According to The Washington Post, three senior Ukrainian officials and a senior US official confirmed this affair months into surprisingly accurate and damaging Ukrainian shelling of Russian positions on the frontlines with Ukraine, such as barracks, headquarters, and ammunition depots, using US-provided HIMARS or M270 MLRS.
The revelations of this report have major implications, as they mean that the United States is using Ukraine to strike Russian troops and sites using long-range weapons supplied by Washington in the midst of the Ukraine war.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
