- cross-posted to:
- europe@feddit.org
- cross-posted to:
- europe@feddit.org
cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/63341831
“At some point, Ukraine will sign a ceasefire agreement; at some point, hopefully, a peace treaty with Russia. Then it may be that part of Ukraine’s territory is no longer Ukrainian,” Merz told students at the Carolus-Magnus-Gymnasium in Marsberg, a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, on Monday.
Merz said that Ukraine cannot join the EU until the war ends. Yet, he has no proposal to end the war.
This is what Europe should propose to Putin. Russia will withdraw from all land it seized from Ukraine after the 2022 invasion. NATO would be dissolved and replaced with a European alliance. Ukraine and Canada would be permitted to join but not the US. All sanctions against Russia will be lifted. Russia will not be required to pay reparations. If Putin doesn’t accept the proposal, the UK and France would send troops to Ukraine.
UK and France could send troops, or just tell Poland they’re free to do what they want.
I don’t know whether Poland’s military is as good as the combination of the UK and France, but the purpose of limiting the number of European countries involved is to prevent Putin from saying he is being overwhelmed and must go nuclear.
France and UK combined have a far superior military with greater capability, plus nuclear options. Poland by itself is technically only in a superior defensive position, and doesn’t have the long range strike capabilities of France or UK.
That said, what would stop Polish forces from advancing are Russian military lines and deep defenses that have so far proven to be incredibly fragile behind the front lines. It’s assumed that Russia could pull in a lot more troops and equipment if needed, but reality makes that picture look a lot more shaky. Everyone thinks Russia has deep layers of defense and a million troops to move around as needed. But at the same time, their logistical failures have continued to be so immense that a coordinated attack beyond what they’re handling in Ukraine would likely strain their operations beyond usefulness.