He is convinced of it.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was "convinced" on Thursday that Russia would not win the war in Ukraine, also saying that President Vladimir Putin would not be allowed to "dictate" peace.
“Putin must not win his war.
And I am convinced of it: he will not win it,” said the Chancellor during a speech delivered at the meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The Russian president, who launched the invasion of Ukraine more than three months ago, “has already missed its strategic objectives”, he estimated, judging that an “invasion of the whole of 'Ukraine' seemed 'further away today than at the start of the offensive'.
This can be explained both by the “impressive” resistance of the Ukrainian forces and by the reaction of the Western allies, who imposed unprecedented sanctions against Moscow and supported kyiv, including militarily.
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“We are not doing anything that can bring NATO into the war.
Because that would mean a direct confrontation between nuclear powers,” he reiterated.
But “it's about making Putin understand that he won't be able to dictate peace.
Ukraine will not accept it, and neither will we,” he insisted.
"For me, it is clear that Putin will only seriously negotiate on peace if he realizes that he cannot break the resistance of Ukraine", added the Chancellor.
"I don't understand why this is so complicated"
The fighting is currently concentrated in the east of the country, where the Russian army seeks at all costs to seize the city of Severodonetsk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is worried about a risk of overflow, called on Wednesday for more heavy weapons to match Russian firepower.
Mr. Scholz did not directly address criticism of the German government, considered too timorous in its deliveries of heavy weapons, such as battle tanks, both by kyiv but also certain countries in eastern Europe such as Poland or the Baltic countries.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba expressed his frustration during another session in Davos.
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"We appreciate every effort made by the German government to find heavy weapons" to enable Ukraine to defend itself, he said.
"I don't understand why this is so complicated," he nevertheless criticized.
