Western countries have no weapons that could empower Ukraine to miraculously snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the conflict with Russia, Moscow’s ambassador to Berlin Sergey Nechayev has said.
In an interview with RIA Novosti on Friday, the diplomat weighed in on the massive assistance packages that the West has been sending to Ukraine for almost two years now.
He suggested that the fighting between Moscow and Kiev had shown that “there is no ‘wunderwaffe’ capable of drastically changing the situation on the battlefield, whether it is heavy tanks, air-defense systems, multiple launch rocket systems, or howitzers” provided by the West.
The German word Wunderwaffe means ‘wonder weapon’ and was coined by the Nazi propaganda machine in the late stages of WWII to reassure the German people that their country could still prevail over the Allies through technological prowess. While some weapons in that period – such as jet fighters or V2 rockets – were widely regarded as technological marvels, they were too few, too late, and too unreliable to turn the tide of the war.
According to Ambassador Nechaev, Russia’s defense industry and military have so far managed to adapt quickly to new challenges posed by Western arms shipments and to come up with effective countermeasures.
When asked whether he thought that German policymakers believed that Ukraine would eventually win, the envoy suggested that their numbers were dwindling. However, “they are incapable of ditching the paradigm… of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia,” he said.
The ambassador also noted that it was clear that many Germans are growing weary of the conflict. Nonetheless, those in the country who support Russia’s actions may face persecution, he added.
Since the start of the Ukraine conflict, Germany has emerged as the second-largest donor of military assistance to Kiev, eclipsed only by the US. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Berlin has provided Kiev with €17 billion ($18.8 billion) in military aid between January 2022 and late October 2023. In addition to this, Berlin announced last month that it would double its military aid to Kiev next year, bringing it to more than $8 billion.
Russia has repeatedly denounced the West over the arms shipments, warning that they would only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also said that this policy results in EU taxpayers having to bear additional financial burdens.