War in Ukraine: Pistorius: Ukraine could negotiate on equal terms

According to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, in order to successfully defend itself against Russia, Ukraine depends on Europe and the new US government under Donald Trump continuing to work closely together. Then the country has a real chance, with the support of the West, to “come to sensible negotiations at some point during the year on an equal footing,” said the SPD politician during a previously unannounced visit to Kiev. Regarding the course of the war and the Ukrainian armed forces, he said: “They are fighting extremely courageously. And thank God the material deliveries are not stopping either.”

The day before, Germany had agreed in Warsaw with four European NATO partners (“Group of Five”) to expand arms cooperation with Ukraine. This is intended to be an additional way to strengthen the defensive fight. His program in Kiev included discussions with representatives of the Ukrainian government and industry.

Is Trump dropping Ukraine?

Before Trump takes office in the USA, scheduled for January 20th, it is unclear what will happen next with Western support for Ukraine. Trump had repeatedly promised a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to quickly end the war in Ukraine, but without his European allies being fully aware of his proposals – at least as far as was publicly known. There are fears in Ukraine that Trump could drastically reduce US aid and thus cause a defeat for Kiev.

He wanted to send a clear signal “a week before American President Trump takes office that we in Europe, that the NATO partners are on Ukraine’s side, especially now in a particularly tense situation situation,” said Pistorius.

Germany stands on Ukraine’s side

The danger of Ukraine’s defeat is “not significantly greater than it was a year ago,” said Pistorius. “The crucial difference is that, of course, Putin is currently trying to make up as much ground as possible before January 20th in the possible anticipation of the ceasefire negotiations that he will impose.”

Germany continues to stand by Ukraine. The fact that there are still six weeks of election campaign in Germany does not change the fact that “here is a large European country fighting for its survival and for its freedom.” Russian troops invaded the neighboring country in February 2022.

The needs of Ukraine’s struggle continue to grow

At the beginning of the year it was reported in Kiev that Russia had conquered almost 3,600 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory last year – an area almost 1.5 times the size of Saarland. Ukraine suffered the highest territorial losses of 610 square kilometers in November, when the Russians occupied around 20 square kilometers every day. The losses in 2024 are multiples of the previous year. What is striking is that Kiev’s territorial losses increased significantly after its own summer offensive and the conquests in the western Russian region of Kursk.

At the same time, war weariness is spreading and the number of Ukrainian deserters is rising rapidly. According to statistics from the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, over 22,000 cases of desertion were registered in 2024. In addition, there are more than 62,000 cases of unauthorized absence from the force. Compared to the previous year, this represents an almost threefold increase in the number of deserters and an almost fourfold increase in the number of unauthorized absences. In total, almost 120,000 cases of desertion have been registered since the outbreak of war. Observers assume that the number of unreported cases is high.

But there is also uncertainty about the details of further support from Germany – Europe’s largest donor. One reason for this is that the traffic light coalition broke up without even having a budget in place.