Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky, at the Munich Security Council, reported that the Russians had won nothing at Avdeyevka, but “a depletion of their army,” and that more weapons from the West can solve everything: “Ukrainians have proven that we can force Russia to retreat,” he said, reported AP. “We can get our land back, Putin can lose, and this has already happened more than once on the battlefield.”
Then, ignoring the fact that Ukraine, having lost so many troops, is massively overwhelmed by the Russian military, he proceeded with the “lack of weapons is the problem,” so useful for those in the West who want to fight to the last Ukrainian. He explained: “Dear friends, unfortunately keeping Ukraine in the artificial deficit of weapons, particularly in deficit of artillery and long-range capabilities, allows Putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war. The self-weakening of democracy over time undermines our joint results… We’re just waiting for weapons that we’re short of.”
Otherwise, Zelensky claimed that, “in order to avoid encirclement, it was decided to withdraw to other positions.” This was done to “keep the maximum number of Ukrainians safe.” The head of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, took exception to this particular point: “Zelensky continues to cynically lie using the platform of the Munich conference. His attempt to explain the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Avdeyevka by concern for the lives of soldiers is grand stand play,” Slutsky wrote on his Telegram channel. He believes that if there really was a goal to save lives, Kiev would change its strategy from war to peace. “So far, even the slightest trace of this is nowhere in sight. Zelensky has no instructions from Washington and Brussels to this effect,” Slutsky said
