Ukraine, Petraeus: “Kiev needs money and weapons”

Milan, Dec. 2 (LaPresse) – “As a commander in two wars, I can say that no one knows the cost of conflict and wants it to end more than those who have been involved in it. The key is to end it in a lasting, just, and reasonable way.“ This was stated in an interview with Corriere della Sera by David Petraeus, former commander of multinational forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and former director of the CIA. ”It’s hard to say“ whether the negotiations are bringing Ukraine closer to peace ”because there are things we don’t know, and much depends on Russia’s willingness to make concessions.” We have little idea of what the Russians are prepared to accept: so far, their demands have been maximalist, including replacing Zelensky with a pro-Russian figure and a strong demilitarization of Ukraine.” I was hoping that there might be two sets of actions on the part of the Western world to help Ukraine do even better on the front lines and in defending its airspace,“ he says. ”First of all, if Europe finally agreed to use the $200-250 billion of Russian reserves frozen in European banks, particularly in Belgium, as collateral to issue Euroclear-guaranteed bonds, the money could be given to Ukraine to purchase weapons and ammunition systems that they cannot produce themselves (such as those for defense against ballistic missiles), but also to double drone production from 3.5 million to 7 million per year. And they could overcome their economic problems for two to three years.”