On February 11, speaking at a meeting of the Security Cooperation Forum of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Ms. Yulia Zhdanova, Head of the Russian delegation, affirmed that many EU countries currently do not see any benefit in peace efforts. According to her, instead of creating conditions for dialogue, regional powers are putting pressure on Kiev to maintain military operations to serve their own strategic calculations.
Ms. Zhdanova cited the viewpoint of Mr. Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference - who once warned that ending hostilities could increase the threat to NATO's eastern flank. Russia sees this as a key reason why European leaders are concerned about an early peace prospect in Ukraine, leading to prioritizing prolonging armed confrontation.
This policy is also evidenced by long-term financial commitments. Ms. Zhdanova pointed out that the European Union is promoting a plan to provide loans of up to 90 billion euros (about 98.1 billion USD) to support Kiev in the 2026-2027 period. For Moscow, this huge budget is the clearest proof that Europe is still steadfast in its goal of maintaining the conflict by pumping resources into Ukraine.
These accusations are made in the context of security discussions in Vienna falling into serious deadlock. Moscow has repeatedly affirmed that the West is using Ukraine as a political and military tool to weaken Russia. Conversely, EU countries still maintain the position that financial and military support for Kiev is an inevitable obligation to protect the general security order in the region.
The deep division at international forums such as the OSCE shows that the prospect of a ceasefire agreement is still very bleak. As the parties are still pursuing opposing interests and continue to pour more resources into the battlefield, the road to peace for Ukraine seems to be becoming increasingly distant and complex.
