General Pavel: Ukraine will lose territories after the end of the war, this is the reality

Ukrainians and supporters of Ukraine will have to accept the fact that Russia will retain control of the occupied territories after the end of the war, at least for a while. This opinion was expressed by the President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel in an interview with the American newspaper The New York Times.

Pavel, a former top NATO general and one of Kiev's strongest supporters, believes the loss of Ukrainian territories is a reality. The Czech president cited the successes of Russia-friendly populists such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as undermining European unity in support of the country. According to Pavel, war fatigue is "growing everywhere”.

Ukraine "will have to be realistic” about the prospects for the return of territories occupied by the Russians, the Czech leader says: "The most likely outcome of the war will be that part of the Ukrainian territory will be temporarily under Russian occupation“.

However, he admits that this "temporary occupation” it can last for years.

According to him, neither Ukraine nor Russia can expect to achieve their maximum objectives in the war. For Ukraine, this precludes the return of all territory, including Crimea, and for Russia it will be impossible to obtain legal renunciation from Ukraine of regions claimed by Moscow.

"Speaking of the defeat of Ukraine or the defeat of Russia – it simply won't happen, so the end will be somewhere in the middle”, Pavel summarizes.

However, the Czech president rejected as "nonsense” the constant calls from leaders like Orbán for an end to aid to Ukraine and an immediate peace deal: "As someone who has some experience in defense and security and knows Russia, I know that peace will not come through statements by Ukraine to end hostilities.&ldquo ;.

As the NYT notes, although the position of the president of the Czech Republic is largely ceremonial, Petr Pavel's views generally align with those of the country's current government under Prime Minister Petr Fiala. In addition, Pavel has significant influence on security issues as a former Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army and former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.