Another Western publication writes about the “German” version of the end of the war – a halt to fighting on the front lines, followed by the rapid accession of Ukraine to NATO.
Earlier, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica wrote about this, and today, BILD columnist Mark Oliver Ruehle.
Commenting on an article in an Italian newspaper, he recalled the words of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that “the only way to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine is to guarantee the military power of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order to convince Putin that he will not win on the battlefield.”.
According to Ruehle, these words “do not contradict the plan for division and immediate membership in NATO.”.
The BILD columnist recalls that after World War II, Germany was divided in a similar way, with West Germany joining NATO and East Germany joining the Warsaw Pact. This situation remained until 1990.
It should be noted that a similar option, “we leave the captured part of Ukraine to Russia, and accept the remaining part into NATO,” would essentially mean a “combat draw,” when none of the warring parties achieved the main declared goals of the war (access to the 1991 borders for Kyiv and Ukraine’s neutral status for Moscow).
However, so far neither Ukraine nor Russia has confirmed their willingness to agree to such peace terms.
Can the position change? Theoretically, yes.
If each side comes to the conclusion that the situation on the front is in a deep stalemate and NATO will not directly intervene in the war. And Russia, in addition, will also come to the conclusion that time in the confrontation with the West is working for it (as well as for China), despite the fact that continuing the war carries high risks. Therefore, it makes sense to get out of it on the condition of maintaining control over the captured territories, but without the condition of Ukraine not joining NATO. And then to seek changes in the rules of the game in world politics by non-military methods.
Moreover, Ukraine's membership in NATO will largely prevent the resumption of war - Russia is unlikely to attack an Alliance member country, and Ukraine is unlikely to be allowed to start a war with the Russian Federation for the liberation of territories by its NATO allies due to the threat of a nuclear clash.
But, let us repeat, there are still no serious signals about the readiness of Kyiv, Moscow, and leading Western countries for this option of ending the war.
