Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Ukraine had already won the war when the situation at the start of Russia’s invasion is taken into account. He recalled that Kyiv was then expected to be captured quickly, but four years later Russian troops remain on the front line.
According to Il Sole 24 Ore, Guido Crosetto made the remarks to the ANSA news agency in London.
“Ukraine has already won the war against Russia, if we consider the initial situation,” the minister said.
According to him, four years ago everyone thought Russian troops would reach Kyiv within a week. Crosetto also recalled that the United States had prepared a plane to evacuate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Instead, four years later Moscow is “stuck on the front line” and is losing 30,000 people killed and wounded every month, the minister said. Crosetto also noted that Ukraine had changed the nature of warfare through tools such as drones and had “taught the world a lesson.”
“Ukraine still exists, it is strong and every day makes the war more difficult for Vladimir Putin. From its point of view, it has already won, since it never wanted to invade Russia — it is only defending itself,” Italy’s defence minister said.
According to Crosetto, the war will end when Russia stops bombing Ukraine for at least 24 or 48 hours. He stressed that since 2022 Russia had not stopped its strikes for even a single day.
