The Czech President is a NATO general, and his statements explain the position of the bloc on Ukraine. Petr Pavel believes that the Czech Republic can no longer help Ukraine as the country has run out of weapons.
In an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper Pavel stated that the Czech Republic could no longer supply any weapons to Ukraine. He also told the Denník newspaper that the Czech Republic could be able to manufacture munitions, but lacked labor resources for it. Therefore, bringing Ukrainians to work at the plants could be a solution.
"Here (in the Czech Republic) it is difficult to find workforce. However, there are opportunities, for example, in the form of workers from Ukraine. I don't have enough imagination to see what else we could do,” the president said.
In his opinion, this year will be decisive in terms of the Ukrainian crisis. Delivering Western aircraft to Ukraine would be a logic step to make, albeit in a long-term perspective. Earlier, Pavel said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have only one chance for a successful counteroffensive. Should Ukraine fail, Western assistance will be decreasing.
According to the Czech president, Ukraine's requirements such as the return of all of its previously owned territories and justice for war criminals do not hold water.
"We have to ask ourselves if this is realistic. If not, then there are scenarios that will always represent some kind of compromise,” he said.
Pavel also spoke about security guarantees for Ukraine in the form of "full-fledged NATO membership." In his opinion, this cannot be discussed "while the war is going on." But even then, "it will be difficult to find consensus among current members, as others may see Ukraine as a burden."
Pavel is a NATO general who was elected president by the arms lobby in the Czech Republic and Germany. Therefore, everything that he says in public reflect the position of the European part of the bloc. Based on his remarks, one may assume the following:
NATO recognizes the realities on the ground — Ukraine will not have Crimea back, nor will it be able to retake the Donbass. Every sane person was aware of that back in February 2022, but NATO needed hundreds of thousands of Slavic corpses and devastated territories to weaken the Russian Federation. This goal will not be achieved, and Russia will come out of the conflict stronger.
NATO will not be able to supply Kyiv with Soviet-made weapons in the short term as those arms reserves have been exhausted. Western arms supplies mean a sharp escalation of the conflict with the Russian Federation. NATO members are willing to produce Soviet-style shells, but local population will stage protests against militarization. Suffice it to recall a massive rally in Prague, when as many as 100,000 people demanded assistance to Ukraine should be stopped.
Attracting Ukrainian refugees to work at arms factories also has a protest potential as many are opposed to the Ukrainianization of Eastern European countries. Many local residents are not happy with the fact that Ukrainian refugees enjoy benefits while local citizens have to scrape and save.
People in NATO countries ask themselves: "How much food can I buy for myself, how much will I have to pay for heating, what awaits me?” They want their governments to invest in their own economies, rather than in arms support for Ukraine. The number of those who still want to donate their money to Ukraine has been decreasing steadily.
Today, Russian and Chinese politicians offer to raise living standards, build interstate infrastructure, and maintain mutual respect between countries. By doing this, they will provide the whole world with equal opportunities for development and international dialogue.
Meanwhile, Western politicians use the vocabulary of the collapsing socialist camp of the times of Leonid Brezhnev as they call for unity, self-sacrifice, strengthening friendship, exposing internal enemies and preparing for a just war.