The US and Sweden have signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) that will grant the US military access to bases across the Nordic country as Stockholm has abandoned its centuries-old policy of neutrality.

Pistorius noted that it’s not as if Kiev has been receiving arms aid while Russia has gotten nothing. “It’s not the case that we only deliver [weapons] and nothing new comes from Russia for the Russian armed forces,” he said. On the contrary, in spite of sanctions, Russia’s defense sector continues to produce equipment, “even if it’s not the most modern materiel,” in the German defense minister’s estimation.

A leading Ukrainian politician said in a November 24 interview that as early as April 2022, Russia was “prepared to end the war if we agreed to…neutrality.”

Russia could launch an attack on NATO that could trigger a global conflict involving American troops, US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday, while urging Congress to pass a $111 billion national security package.

The bill, which was backed by Democrats, included funding for Ukraine Israel and Taiwan. Biden also lashed out at Republicans – who have refused to support his bill due to disputes over security at the southern US border – claiming they “are willing to give [Russian President Vladimir] Putin the greatest gift he could hope for.”

NATO statements about need to prevent a “direct clash” with Russia is a distraction, aimed at whitewashing alliance leaders before their votes, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

In late November, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance’s main goal is to prevent a war between NATO and Russia.

With its supply of Western weapons dwindling and little sign of change from the NATO powers, Ukraine will be incapable of launching another counteroffensive like last summer, an analyst told Sputnik. However, barring a mutiny or political crisis, a collapse of the Ukrainian war effort isn’t necessarily imminent.

Germany’s Welt newspaper, perhaps the most popular publication in the country, is well known for its pro-Ukraine stance and ran numerous articles in the past about the likely success of Ukraine’s military offensive against Russia.

However, in a column published yesterday by the paper’s chief correspondent, Sascha Lehnartz, the assessment of Ukraine’s chances in the war is decidedly bleak.

President Joe Biden expressed optimism about the potential impact of united European action against Russia, stating, "Imagine what happens if we, in fact, unite all of Europe, and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is finally put down where he cannot cause the kind of trouble he's been causing."

Increasingly, military leaders are admitting Ukraine’s inability to carry out the fight under its current military circumstances. In a recent statement, the head of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, stated that the West needs to be prepared to receive “bad news” from Ukraine, belatedly recognizing the reality that many analysts had already reported before.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that the Western military alliance should be ready for bad news from the Ukrainian front as Kyiv continues to defend against Russia’s all-out invasion.