War has been raging in Ukraine for more than a hundred days. Experts speak of a war of attrition on both sides. At Maischberger, the governor of Chernivtsi, Sergij Osatschuk, warns of further disputes in the EU.
The war in eastern Ukraine could go on for a very long time. The federal government also seems to fear this. After all, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced in a government statement last Wednesday that Germany wants to deliver the world's most modern air defense system to Ukraine. Its full name is Iris-T-SLM. It is a surface-to-air guided missile "Made in Germany". With the Iris-T system, cities the size of the capital Kyiv can be fully defended. Problem: The companies involved in the production can only build two of these systems - per year. The system intended for Ukraine is currently being manufactured. That lasts until October or November.
Military expert Carlo Masala is impressed. In "Maischberger" on ARD he explains: "The weapons that are to be delivered now are important in order to keep the Russians at a distance." According to Masala, this also applies to the weapons that US President Joe Biden promised last week. "These are weapons that allow the Ukrainians to destroy Russian targets from a distance." The main purpose of the new weapons is to wear down the Russian army.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has now reacted to the announced arms deliveries from the USA. Putin warned that the means of destruction would be used to attack targets that had previously been spared. Masala doesn't know exactly what the Russian president meant by that, but he continues to rule out an attack on NATO countries. Instead, he fears renewed attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Masala says that Putin's short-term war goal remains the occupation of the Donbass. Both sides were waging a war of attrition there. The Russian army is currently only able to conquer villages and small towns. This war of attrition could go on for a very long time. That depends above all on which weapons are now being delivered to Ukraine from the West, Masala explains.
For the Russian president, however, the war did not end with the conquest of the Donbass, he explains. His goal remains the complete subjugation of Ukraine.
However, the war is not the only problem for Ukraine, says Chernivtsi Governor Sergiy Osachuk. "The situation is tense and critical," he says at Maischberger. "We are facing Russian military power. But the problem is not only military power, it is also about economic capacity and our financial resources. We depend on Western help every day and we have to thank them every day. But we have to also ask for more support."
For Osachuk, this also includes arms deliveries. Because: "Putin only understands the language of the strongest - or of an army that can destroy the Russian troops." He is in favor of peace negotiations, but they will only take place when the Russian president "feels the strength of the Ukrainian army with Western weapons to such an extent that he understands that there is no longer a military way out."
According to the governor, Putin's strength is his mentality. "And that's why I call on Europe to unite and defend its own values."
