Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanks US-based companies for their support to Ukraine. Among other things, he openly boasts of cooperation with controversial financial giants Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and JP Morgan.
The pledge to US companies from Zelensky came as the US business network National Association of State Chambers (NASC) held its annual “Winter Meeting” at the end of January.
Volodymyr Zelensky participated in the meeting via video link and expressed how “American companies can become a locomotive for global economic growth” after the end of the war, but also that the ties between large American companies and Ukraine are already significant.
– We have already managed to attract attention (from) and have cooperation with such giants of the international finance and investment world as BlackRock, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs,” Zelensky says, going so far as to declare that American big business has become part of “the Ukrainian way”.
– American brands like Starlink or Westinghouse have already become part of our Ukrainian way. Your brilliant defence systems – like HIMARS or Bradleys – are already linking our history of freedom with your companies. We are waiting for Patriots. We’re (also) watching Abrams closely, he continues in the nearly seven-minute speech.
Zelensky began the speech by declaring that it is “obvious that American companies can be the locomotive that will once again drive global economic growth” and that it is “a great business opportunity” to stand with Ukraine.
– And I believe that freedom must always prevail, he added.
The National Association of State Chambers is an organization that aims to unite and mobilize state chambers of commerce. It describes itself as the "leading voice for business" in the 50 states of the United States. This is according to its official website.
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One of Britain’s highest-ranking military officers assesses that Ukraine will never be able to defeat Russia on the battlefield and should instead negotiate for peace.
In an interview with The Independent’s podcast World of Trouble, Field Marshal Lord David Richards argues that Ukraine simply does not have the capacity to drive Russian forces from its territory and should instead seek a negotiated solution.
Richards, who was promoted to the country’s most prestigious five-star military rank earlier this year and led NATO forces during the troop surge in Afghanistan, is critical of how Ukraine’s allies have managed their support.
— What we have done in the case of Ukraine is encourage Ukraine to fight, but not given them the means to win, says the former Chief of the Defence Staff.
When Richards is asked to reflect on Ukraine’s chances of success against Russia, he is clear.
— My view is that they would not win.
When the interviewer asks whether Ukraine could win even with the right resources, the answer is brief.
— No.
Pressed further on whether the right resources could make a difference, he repeated his answer and added:
— No, they haven’t got the manpower.
Not an existential issue for the West
Richards, who is the only British officer to have commanded large American combat forces since 1945, believes the prospects for Ukraine are bleak.
— Unless we were to go in with them – which we won’t do because Ukraine is not an existential issue for us. It clearly is for the Russians, by the way.
— We’ve decided because it’s not an existential issue, we will not go to war. We are, you can argue – and I absolutely accept it – in some sort of hybrid war. But that’s not the same as a shooting war in which our soldiers are dying in large numbers, Richards continues.
He emphasizes that despite sympathy for the Ukrainians and their achievements, he still believes the war is not in the West’s vital national interests.
— My instinct is that the best Ukraine can do, and you already see President Zelensky, who’s an inspirational leader … the best they can do is a sort of a score draw.
Zelensky met Trump
The statement comes after Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Washington DC to meet Donald Trump and try to convince him to give Ukraine Tomahawk cruise missiles.
But Zelensky’s plans to pressure Trump appear to have been undermined by Vladimir Putin, who spoke with the American president hours before the White House meeting with the Ukrainian leader.
At a packed press conference, Trump appeared hesitant to give away American weapons, while maintaining a friendly tone with Zelensky. The American president emphasized his own country’s need to maintain stockpiles.
Zelensky said very little, except to politely suggest that Ukraine could offer its drone technology in an exchange deal. Trump seemed open to the idea.
After the summit, Zelensky said that Trump had not said no to the idea of Tomahawk missiles – but not yes either.
Iraq war built on lies
In the extensive interview about his military life, the field marshal revealed that although his career has been successful, there have been occasions when he came into conflict with the establishment and often disagreed with his military and political superiors.
As a major general and deputy chief of the army under General Sir Mike Jackson, he says it was obvious to him that British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government was lying about its claims that Saddam Hussein was developing nuclear weapons in Iraq.
Tony Blair’s government lied about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to legitimize the invasion. Photo: World Economic Forum/CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Together with other senior officers, he questioned the legality of Britain’s decision to join American forces in the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Before the British joined the invasion, Blair presented an intelligence document to parliament claiming that the Iraqi dictator was developing nuclear weapons.
“This stinks”
The document, which has since been mocked as “the dodgy dossier” for its unfounded claims, caused dismay among senior officers who had access to the actual intelligence information.
— “I and others encouraged the chief of defence staff to query whether this was legal and what was the basis of this intelligence, says Lord Richards.
— I do remember one officer – who I won’t name but was on the intelligence side – saying, ‘Don’t worry. We’ll find something to put’. Yeah, ‘don’t worry. We’ll find something about that. We’ll justify what we were doing’, he recounts.
— I went back to say to Mike Jackson, ‘This stinks’.
Western military support to Ukraine has nearly halved over the summer. Now the US Secretary of Defense is demanding that NATO countries once again open their wallets for more American weapons deliveries – but several major European nations are hesitating.
Pete Hegseth had a clear message when he met with his NATO counterparts in Brussels on Wednesday: Europe must invest even more money in American weapons for Ukraine.
The US Secretary of Defense pointed to a report from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy showing that military support to Kiev fell dramatically during the summer months – a 43 percent decrease compared to the first half of the year.
Hegseth was explicit about his view on how peace is achieved.
— You get peace when you are strong. Not when you use strong words or wag your fingers, you get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect, he declared to assembled journalists.
“Firepower, that’s what is coming and we expect it is coming from NATO. EU will buy US weapons, transfer to Ukraine to get PEACE!️” — U.S. Secretary of War Hegseth in Brussels at NATO defense ministers security meeting
At the center of discussions is the PURL program – Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List – which has fundamentally changed how the U.S. supports Ukraine militarily. Previously, Washington donated weapons directly, but now NATO countries must pay for the deliveries themselves.
According to Hegseth, the logic is simple: The more Europe buys, the faster the war can be concluded.
— Our expectation today is that more countries donate even more, that they purchase even more to provide for Ukraine, to bring that conflict to a peaceful conclusion, he said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that $2 billion has been pledged so far through the PURL system, and that he expects additional contributions. But the figure falls far short of the $3.5 billion that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had hoped to secure by October.
Three countries made new pledges on Wednesday: Sweden, Estonia, and Finland. Corresponding commitments from European heavyweights such as Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom are still lacking.
USA – the big winner?
The Russian government has accused Kiev’s European financiers of prolonging the conflict at the expense of Ukrainian lives, and Moscow claims that European countries are unwilling to acknowledge the failure of their strategy.
Meanwhile, European NATO members continue to bear the economic consequences of their sanctions policy against Russia. After rejecting Russian energy, many EU economies have been hit by rising production costs and widespread bankruptcies in industry.
The United States, however, has benefited from developments through increased investment flows and higher sales of liquefied natural gas to Europe.
US President Donald Trump says Ukraine could receive long-range Tomahawk missiles if the war is not resolved. He acknowledges that such arms deliveries would constitute “a new step of aggression” toward Russia.
President Donald Trump announced during an appearance on Sunday that he is prepared to bring up the issue of delivering Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine in discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, if the war does not end in the near future.
– If this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, according to reports from Associated Press.
He emphasized at the same time that he would like to understand what Ukraine intends to do with the weapons, to avoid an unwanted escalation in the war.
Like Trump himself, however, several sources have expressed reservations about an actual delivery. Reuters reports that it is unlikely the US will send Tomahawks to Ukraine, as existing stockpiles are already earmarked for the Navy and other military purposes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long desired Tomahawk missiles from the US. Montage. Photo: IAEA, Matt Johnson/Right Cheer/CC BY 2.0
Could strike targets deep inside Russia
Tomahawk missiles have an estimated range of approximately 2,500 km (1,550 miles), which would give Ukraine the capability to strike targets deep inside Russia – including Moscow – if the deliveries become reality.
Some critics and analysts question, however, how much such a weapon could affect the conflict on the ground. According to reports, Trump’s closest advisers are skeptical that Tomahawk missiles would significantly change the combat dynamics.
The Kremlin is now issuing strong warnings about consequences if Tomahawks are delivered to Ukraine. Russian representatives claim that such an action would dramatically escalate the conflict and set the stage for a new chapter in the war.
Russia further argues that Ukrainian forces would not be able to handle such a sophisticated system without direct American participation.
Previous statements from Vladimir Putin have also indicated that delivery of such weapons would represent a “qualitatively new stage“ in the conflict.
The rhetoric between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump increasingly strained. Photo: US Department of Defense
Trump: “Sort of made a decision”
Trump has previously hinted that he has “sort of made a decision“ regarding delivery of Tomahawks, but that he wants more information about what Ukraine actually plans to do with them. He has also emphasized that the weapons would not be sent directly by the US to Ukraine, but rather through the NATO alliance.
If an agreement is reached and the weapons are actually delivered, difficult technical, organizational and diplomatic challenges remain to be solved.
Ukraine would need operational capacity, training, target selection systems and support to handle long-range offensive capability.
The threat to arm Ukraine with Tomahawks marks a clear shift in rhetoric from the Trump administration and an increased willingness to use the war’s heaviest symbols in diplomatic pressure.
Between words and reality stand logistical constraints and political concerns – not least from Moscow.
If the decision is made – and the weapons are delivered – we may face a new escalation in the conflict where the risks of direct confrontation between the great powers could become reality.
Sweden’s security police (Säpo) considered him such a dangerous threat that he was kept under daily surveillance. But in June 2023, Viktor Gaziev disappeared – and now he has been found in Ukraine where he has become a celebrated drone expert, received awards and met President Zelensky.
He claims that Swedish authorities pressured him to go to war and escorted him there.
Viktor Gaziev was one of the so-called six imams who in 2019 were classified as a serious threat to Sweden’s national security. The Swedish government decided to deport him, but the deportation was never carried out – Gaziev was deemed at risk of torture and persecution in his homeland Russia.
Instead, the radical Islamist was kept under extensive surveillance with daily reporting requirements to police. Until he suddenly disappeared.
Swedish public television SVT’s investigative program Uppdrag granskning has now tracked him down – not in Sweden, but as a drone specialist in the Ukrainian army.
Pressured to go to war
How did an internationally wanted person without travel documents and with daily reporting requirements at Gävle police station in central Sweden end up in Ukraine?
Gaziev himself describes it as the result of pressure from Sweden’s Security Police (Säpo). He claims that Säpo arranged a private meeting with his ex-wife and urged her to persuade him to leave. The incentive was allegedly a promise that the agency would not hinder her application for Swedish citizenship.
Several other people classified as security threats confirm to Uppdrag granskning that they received similar proposals to go to Ukraine.
However, Security Police operational chief Fredrik Hallström completely rejects the claims: “We do not conduct the type of activities alleged here”, he maintains, continuing:
— We do not suggest or try to persuade anyone to travel to a specific place. Least of all to war-torn Ukraine.
Military intelligence contact planned the trip
In chat conversations that Uppdrag granskning has accessed, it emerges how the trip to Ukraine was planned in detail. A person who identifies himself as a Swedish soldier discusses flight tickets to Poland and which border crossing they should use. Gaziev claims the person works for MUST, Sweden’s military intelligence service.
In the chat, Gaziev sends his bank details and shows military equipment he bought for the war. According to Gaziev, it was his contact person at the Security Police who gave him the contact to MUST.
— They talked to the military service in Poland. It was a man and a woman who flew with me to Warsaw without documents, without a passport, just a Swedish driver’s license.
MUST has refused to comment on the allegations at all.
Ukrainian commander confirms Swedish involvement
However, Murad Zumzo, a commander in the Ukrainian army, gives a completely different picture than Säpo. He says he spoke on the phone with a Swedish person who matched the name in the chat – and that the Swede had a central role in getting Gaziev to Ukraine.
— He made contact and took him to the Polish-Ukrainian border. I sent two of my guys there. The Swedes and Poles handed him over, says Zumzo.
Viktor Gaziev is clear that he would not have joined the war without Swedish authorities’ involvement and he took Säpo’s alleged promise about citizenship for his ex-wife very seriously.
But today he believes he was manipulated – his ex-wife was denied her citizenship application with reference to information from the Security Police itself.
