Security expert: How Ukraine war ends will determine Europe's fate

The Russian threat to NATO's eastern flank could intensify after a ceasefire in Ukraine, according to the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger.

"As long as Ukraine defends Europe, the danger is not so great," Wolfgang Ischinger said in comments published in the Tagesspiegel newspaper on Saturday.

This means that Russian President Vladimir Putin's armies are currently tied up there, "and he is losing thousands of soldiers every week."

The moment there is a ceasefire in Ukraine, the situation will change, Ischinger noted ahead of next week's 62nd MSC in the Bavarian capital: "Then Putin can continue his rearmament in peace, and the threat to NATO countries on the eastern flank will intensify."

Nevertheless, the German expert emphasized that the most important thing is to end the bloodshed in Ukraine as quickly as possible.

"I wish nothing more for the people of Ukraine. But the Russian threat will also grow for us Germans if a future ceasefire is not accompanied by a massive reduction in the military build-up in Russia's western military districts," Ischinger said.

However, that is not to be expected at all. "That is why a simple ceasefire would be no reason to sit back and relax," Ischinger said.

How the war in Ukraine ends is "the question of fate par excellence for Germany and Europe," Ischinger said, stressing that Ukraine is defending Europe today, not just its own territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to attend the upcoming security conference.

Ukraine has been fighting to repel a full-scale Russian invasion for almost four years with Western support. The US is currently attempting to negotiate an end to the fighting.

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