Czech President: West must be prepared that there will be no complete victory in war

Czech President Petr Pavel believes that the West should prepare for the fact that there will be no complete victory in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Source: Petr Pavel in an interview with The Guardian during his visit to London for the Coronation of Charles III.

Quote: "I think we should do anything… at our disposal to encourage Ukrainians and to support them to be successful. But internally, we should also be ready for other contingencies."

Details: Pavel has said that Kyiv understands that they should not "underestimate the Russians because they have enough manpower, they still have enough equipment, even though it is older, probably in lower numbers, but still, they have a large amount of artillery barrels, they have a lot of ammunition."

He added: "They are not so incapable in terms of defence. And of course, being in defence makes it easier for them because Ukraine will have suffered terrible losses, even if they are well prepared. So attacking an enemy like Russia will be difficult and Russians will not be caught by surprise for the second time."

The Czech president has said that Zelenskyy's primary demand during their meeting on 28 April was for ammunition amid preparations for a counteroffensive.

EU member states agreed this week to supply Ukraine with ammunition from outside the union, including the UK and US, despite initial objections from France, a decision Pavel said would increase the ability to help Ukraine in the weeks and months ahead.

Europe does not have the capacity to produce the weapons Ukraine needs, but it can buy them, and Zelenskyy has said he will provide skilled technicians for new munitions factories if the EU defence industry fails to do so.

Pavel believes that the EU should source ammunition for Ukraine from all over the world, including countries that may not want to acknowledge their involvement in the conflict with Russia, or with which European capitals may feel some diplomatic discomfort in relations. "There are ways we can do that," he said.

Background: Czech President Petr Pavel privately warned the Ukrainian leadership against the disaster of a hurried counter-offensive.

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