A "new cold war" is brewing. Deadlock in the war in Ukraine

European leaders are preparing for a “new cold war” with Russia, says Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen. In his opinion, Moscow has the potential and ability to continue hostilities in Ukraine for years to come.

- Many Western countries saw it as a short-term problem. Now they know that this is the end of the last 30 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, Hakkanen said.

European leaders are increasingly concerned about the stalemate in the war in Ukraine and the competition to overtake Russia in the production of new weapons, writes political and military journalist Paul McLeary for Politico.

According to the journalist, the year that began with promises of a large-scale Ukrainian counter-offensive, intended to match last year's unexpected breakthrough of Russian forces in the occupied territory, turned into a bloody battle, square by square, on thousands of kilometers of the front line.

Finnish Defense Minister: Russia may continue the war for years

Russia has the potential and ability to continue this war for years. Many people overestimate the fact that the West is winning. Ukraine is winning, said Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen during his visit to Washington, where he signed a new defense agreement with the US.

McLeary recalls that this month Hakkanen's government announced a doubling of ammunition production, pledging to send much of it to Ukraine, which is struggling due to increasingly scarce supplies from Western allies. Kyiv decided to slowly build production capacity in the USA and Europe.

As you know, at the beginning of 2023, the European Union announced an ambitious goal of delivering one million 155-millimeter artillery shells to Ukraine by December. The $1.1 billion was intended to compensate countries for this effort, adds McLeary. However, by November they managed to send about 300,000 bullets.

Finnish minister: Decisive steps are needed from the West

- Although the battlefield is frozen, in the long run Ukraine has a good chance of winning because Western countries have greater economic power and can develop their defense industry to a level that Russia cannot compete with. We can do it and Ukraine can do it, but it requires decisive steps from Western countries

Hakkanen said.

According to the minister, part of the problem with increasing production in the West is the slowly growing awareness that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has forever changed the political landscape of Europe.

- I think many Western countries saw it as a short-term problem. But now I think almost everyone in the US and NATO countries knows that this is the end of the last 30 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. We are now entering a new Cold War

concluded the Finnish Defense Minister.