Panel 3: Outcome of the war: Are we doing enough for Ukraine to win?

“Many Western govern­ments are more concerned with managing the war” (Justyna Gotkowska)

It first became clear that it is necessary to produce more weapons and ammu­ni­tion. Christian Mölling, Deputy Director of the DGAP Research Institute, pointed out that the defence industry receives no financial incen­tives and works “in peace mode”. According to Justyna Gotkowska, Deputy Director of the OSW Centre for Eastern Studies, a victory for Ukraine would mean “regaining the territory of Ukraine and setting limits to the expansion of Russian impe­ri­alism.” Ukraine should also join the EU and NATO. This would guarantee long-term security for Europe. However, many Western govern­ments still do not have a clear goal in mind and are more concerned with “managing the war”, which leads to insuf­fi­cient support for Ukraine.

“There is only one way to win the war” (Alex Vindman)

According to Maryna Vorotniuk, Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a victory for Ukraine would also mean “inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia”. She called on people to think about what would happen if Ukraine collapsed rather than worrying about Russia’s possible defeat. Former U.S. Army Lieu­tenant Colonel Alex Vindman noted in this context that there are many ways to lose the war (for Ukraine), but only one way to win it — and the military resources of the West are essential for this.