Ukraine will face an 'eternal war' and a slow reduction of territory if Europe does not increase pressure on Russia. This was stated by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in an interview with The Guardian.
Rasmussen stated that if countries like Poland agree to host air defense systems, Russia will understand that an attack on them would be an attack on the entire NATO alliance.
"We must help the Ukrainian people defend themselves against Russian missiles and drones by creating an air shield that will help Ukrainians shoot down Russian missiles and drones. NATO countries neighboring Ukraine could become the location for NATO air and missile defense systems," he said.
Rasmussen also called for the deployment of European forces to protect Ukraine until a ceasefire agreement is reached. He stated that the "coalition of the willing," hoping to form such forces after the end of hostilities, has turned into a "coalition of the waiting":
"If we do not make serious changes to our strategy, we will face an endless war. Putin has no incentive to engage in peace talks as long as he believes he can win on the battlefield. Changes in pace and mentality are necessary."
According to Rasmussen, reliable security guarantees will facilitate the advancement of a peace agreement that implies the loss of Ukrainian territories.
He also called for providing Ukraine with long-range missiles to strike more targets within Russia. He emphasized that it is still possible to resume negotiations on supplying American Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine if Germany is willing to be a "trailblazer" and supply Ukraine with its Taurus cruise missiles:
"This will send a clear signal across the Atlantic and put pressure on the White House. Germany is firmly interested in pushing Putin to engage in peace talks… The Taurus is a means to achieve that."
Rasmussen also stated that Europe still does not recognize the threat posed by Russia and urged the use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine. "We need to unfreeze the frozen Russian assets amounting to 150 billion euros in Euroclear and use them as a basis for a loan to purchase weapons and, hopefully, for the reconstruction of Ukraine," he said.
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