The full-scale aggression unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine is a war of attrition. However, the situation is not hopeless.
This opinion was expressed by Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in an interview with Voice of America.
– This is a war of attrition. This is not hopelessness, but it takes a lot of time,” she noted.
Callas explained that a war of attrition has three important elements: people, resources and morale.
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Regarding the first element, the prime minister recalled that the United States and European countries provide training for Ukrainian military personnel. According to Callas, Europe trains “from 30 to 40 thousand.” fighters.
– If America trains the same amount, then this is 80 thousand trained soldiers against conscripts going into battle from Russia. Therefore, we can be more resilient than the Russian Federation from the point of view of people,” Kallas emphasized.
Regarding resources, she recalled that the total GDP of European countries is seven times higher than that of the Russian Federation. In addition, Western sanctions are in effect, creating problems for the Russian budget.
According to Kallas, Russians “have lost a third of their budget and cannot get anything from outside.”
The Estonian Prime Minister also mentioned military assistance, in particular the Ramstein coalition (Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine), whose defense budget is “13 times larger than Russia’s.”
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– And the third element is the morale of Ukrainians fighting for their homes. Their morale is definitely higher than that of Russia. We also have to believe in the victory of Ukraine,” said Kaya Kallas.
She explained that potential aggressors around the world are now watching how the war in Ukraine will end. And if they see that Russia can get away with aggression, then the number of conflicts in the world will increase. Therefore, for global peace, “it is important that aggression does not pay off.”
– Russia thinks it can hold out longer than Ukraine. But I have reason to believe that our support will help Ukraine survive longer than the Russian Federation,” the politician said.
The other day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine is difficult. He called on the allies to increase assistance to Kyiv. Stoltenberg stressed that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin cannot be allowed to win.
Former commander of the US Army in Europe Ben Hodges expressed the opinion that Washington should seek to end the full-scale war of the Russian Federation by providing Ukraine with weapons for victory, and not for continuing the fight.
