The presidents of Russia and the United States commented on Thursday (13) Ukraine’s advances with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Joe Biden, on a trip to Finland, stressed that the country’s future is within the Atlantic alliance, while Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, stressed that Kiev’s entry into the Western military organization “would aggravate international tensions”.
(RFI) “It’s not a question of whether [the Ukrainians] are going to join NATO, it’s a question of when they might join, and they will join,” the US president said, before assessing that Vladimir Putin “has already lost the war” in Ukraine.
He said Putin “could end the war tomorrow. All he’d have to do is say, ‘I’ll stop’.” “There is no chance of him winning the war in Ukraine (…). He’s already lost,” Biden claimed during a visit to Finland to celebrate the recent entry into NATO of the Nordic country, which borders Russia.
The Democrat added that Russia’s lack of military resources and economic difficulties are decisive for Moscow not being able to achieve victory in the military offensive started a year and five months ago, and that the Ukrainian counter-offensive to regain territories taken by Russia will force the leader to negotiate.
Shortly afterwards, Putin reacted, warning that Kiev’s eventual membership in the Western organization “will not improve Ukraine’s security”. “In general, it will make the world more vulnerable and cause additional tensions on the international scene,” he summarized.
One of the reasons for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was the need to prevent the former Soviet republic from one day joining the US-led transatlantic defense alliance.
More weapons
At the NATO summit this week, Ukraine got promises of greater military support from Western powers – support that Putin downplayed.
Western missiles “cause damage, but nothing critical happens in the combat zones where they were used. The same is the case with foreign-made tanks,” he said in an interview broadcast on Russian state television.
A Ukrainian general announced that the armed forces have already received cluster bombs, a highly controversial type of weapon promised by the United States. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov warned that the use of such weaponry, which spreads submunitions over a vast terrain, would force Russia to “take certain countermeasures”, which will be decided by its armed forces.
Following the end of the NATO summit, Russia launched a series of air strikes against Ukraine, which it claimed destroyed 20 explosive drones and two Russian cruise missiles. The overnight shelling left at least four people injured in Kiev, officials said.
‘Nuclear threat’
Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov has indicated that the delivery of Western F-16 fighter jets – which Kiev considers necessary to strike behind the Russian front line – would be considered a “nuclear” threat, as these aircraft are capable of carrying atomic weapons.
However, according to Biden, there is “no real prospect (…) of Putin using nuclear weapons”, as “not only the West but also China and the rest of the world have said, ‘Don’t go into that terrain’”.
Biden arrived in Finland on Wednesday to close out a European trip that began in London on Sunday. Finland left behind decades of neutrality and in April became NATO’s 31st member.
“Watch what you eat”
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the US is not sure where Prigozhin is, but joked that the mercenary leader could be poisoned.
“If I were him, I’d watch what I eat. I’d keep an eye on my menu,” Biden said, according to a White House transcript.
“But all kidding aside … I don’t think any of us know for sure what Prigozhin’s future is in Russia.”
Wagner helped Russia annex Crimea in 2014, fought Islamic State militants in Syria, operated in the Central African Republic and Mali, and took the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut for Russia this year, with considerable losses on both sides.
With information from AFP and Reuters