German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) described the Ukrainian front as “stuck”. He told RTL and ntv at the Munich Security Conference that Russia is committing “an insane number of soldiers” to make only marginal gains. According to him, the country loses roughly 30 000 soldiers each month-wounded or killed-yet sees little progress. In contrast, night‑time attacks with drones, cruise missiles and other weapons are increasing, causing civilians to die from freezing inside their homes. Pistorius said this is “plain terror against the civilian population” and unrelated to any military struggle, an effort to break the morale of the Ukrainian people and a clear signal that Russia has no interest in peace or ending the war. He cautions that Russia’s economic ability to sustain the conflict is slipping. The minister called for continual review of sanctions to assess their sufficiency and enforceable monitoring. He urged that the flow of money from gas and oil sales be stopped “as quickly, definitively and absolutely” as possible, because those revenues fuel the war. That, he added, will be critical to holding Russia accountable.
Politics
