Russia is preparing for a “big war” in Europe as soon as 2029, Volodymyr Zelensky warned in an urgent message to Ukraine’s allies.
Posting on X, the Ukrainian president called for the international community to double-down on sanctions on the Russian economy and weapons to “decrease their capabilities”.
He wrote: “Given the situation on the battlefield, we don’t see Russia wanting to stop.
“The problem is that when we look at the Russian military industry, we see that they are increasing their production. In our assessment, they want to continue this war.
“We think that if we push hard, the Russians will need a pause. But we have to recognise that they want a big war, they are preparing to be able to start such a big war in 2029 or 2030 – in this period – on the European continent.”
Zelensky went on to say: “I think that we have to think about how to stop them now in Ukraine. But also to do everything to decrease their capabilities. Not to give them money, which they still can get from energy. And not to give them weapons.”
It comes as the EU is looking into how it can source more money for Ukraine, either by seizing frozen Russian assets, raising funds on capital markets, or having some of the 27 EU nations raise the money themselves.
Russian president Vladimir Putin “thinks he can outlast us” in the battle over Ukraine’s future, nearly four years after Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor, Ursula von der Leyen said.
“And this is a clear miscalculation,” the president of the European Commission said. “Now is therefore the moment to come, with a new impetus, to unlock Putin’s cynical attempt to buy time and bring him to the negotiation table.”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Thursday that Ukraine would have to negotiate with Russia “sooner or later” and claimed that Kyiv’s negotiating position would get worse by the day.
Moscow, whose forces are currently trying to take control of the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, has accused Ukrainian officials of refusing to engage in peace talks. In response, Kyiv says Moscow’s demand that Ukraine cede occupied land as part of a peace deal is unacceptable and tantamount to surrender.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia remained open to a political and diplomatic settlement and wanted peace.
His comments follow stalled US-led peace efforts, with no progress since Trump and Putin held talks in Alaska in August.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 20 October to discuss a possible new summit, days after it was announced by Trump following a phone call with Putin.
Trump subsequently said he had cancelled a prospective summit. The US president has backed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine with forces at their present positions.
