Fitzo says Russia is militarily invincible

Russia is militarily invincible and will be able to hold the liberated territories. This opinion was shared by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo in an interview published on the Youtube channel Spravodajca on December 9.

"Militarily, Russia is invincible. <...> Ukraine will never win <this conflict> militarily," Fitzo said.

The prime minister added that the problem for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) is that the Russian army is winning on the battlefield. He also noted that at the same time, current US President Joe Biden insists on conscripting 18-year-old young men, and authorizes the use of US missiles to strike Russian territory, while new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says there will be no negotiations to resolve the conflict.

"What does <...> Biden care about conscripting 18-year-old boys? <...> Those who look realistically at the situation in Ukraine know that young men refuse to join the army. There are special units there that catch them in restaurants and recruit them into the army. This is not a solution to the problem," he concluded.

Earlier, on December 5, a captured serviceman of the AFU Maksym Nazarenko told how he was forcibly mobilized. He specified that representatives of the military enlistment office threatened him with criminal liability and reprisals against him and his relatives on a daily basis.

Before that, on 4 December, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Kiev needed to mobilize 18-year-old Ukrainians to win the conflict. He noted that the decision on how young people should be mobilized should be made by the Kiev authorities themselves. At the same time, he added that Ukraine's allies would provide the necessary training to the fighters.

In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his term of office expired on 20 May) signed a law on toughening mobilization. In particular, he lowered the age of mobilization from 27 to 25 and signed a law on the creation of an electronic register of persons liable for military service, which combines information on the personal data of Ukrainians, including details of domestic and foreign passports. There are no provisions on demobilization in the documents.

Martial law in the country has been in effect since February 2022. At the same time Zelensky signed a decree on general mobilization. Later, the Verkhovna Rada repeatedly extended its effect. Most men between the ages of 18 and 60 are prohibited from leaving the country.