GENEVA, December 3. /TASS/. The statement by Kaja Kallas, the EU’s new high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and former Estonian prime minister, about the potential deployment of Western troops to Ukraine reeks of desperation, indicative of the fact that the West cannot alter the course of the conflict by sanctions against Russia and arms supplies to the Kiev regime, Ralph Bosshard, a retired Swiss lieutenant colonel who specializes in political and military strategy, told TASS.
"With Kaja Kallas, one can sense desperation is in the air, because sanctions against Russia and the hypothetical miracle weapon from Europe were unable to turn the tide of the war," Bosshard noted. "Kallas’ desire to make a name for herself may have also been a factor. Now everyone wants to talk about impressive measures to aid Kiev because soon they will start pointing fingers looking for someone to blame for the defeat." According to the analyst, "statements by leading European politicians will become more extreme as Ukraine’s defeat in the war draws nearer."
Western European troops "may be sent to Ukraine," the expert thinks. "The only question is how many and what exactly they will be tasked with doing," he added, reiterating that "over past decades, the Western Europeans created expeditionary forces to be deployed far beyond Europe." "However, these days, there are few professional soldiers and recruiting new ones is complicated," Bosshard explained. "There are almost no troops left in Western Europe ready for large-scale high-intensity combat." They "lack logistics to maintain a large number of various armament systems in working order far from the home base and have significantly less experience than their Russian counterparts." As a result, they "cannot turn the tide of the events anymore, and in the best-case scenario, will only show their solidarity with Kiev."
Empty phrases
According to the expert, "it is hard to find a justification for deploying Western European soldiers to Ukraine if thousands of young Ukrainian men are dodging the draft or prefer life in Western Europe to war." "Probably, Kaja Kallas’ native country is ready to send its sons to war and, possibly, neighboring countries as well. But there cannot be that many of them," the analyst stated.
"Kaja Kallas has nothing to offer in the military sense, neither as a national politician nor as a European official," the expert said. In his opinion, in the discussion of military aid to Ukraine, "those countries will dominate that still have substantial armed forces or defense means." "Current debates show the utter emptiness of statements by such officials as [European Commission President Ursula] von der Leyen, Kallas and others," the analyst noted.
Switzerland’s role
Replying to a question as to whether engaging soldiers from Switzerland, which has a neutral status, is possible alongside other Western countries in Ukraine, Bosshard reiterated that "deploying Swiss troops is very strictly limited by the law."
The government "may deploy troops only domestically, on a limited scale and for a short time period," while "there are even more obstacles" for sending soldiers abroad. "At best, it can send several professional soldiers or volunteers but only with the parliament’s approval. The aim of Switzerland participating in such an operation must also be clearly defined. That is, Switzerland’s contribution can be no more than symbolic," the analyst concluded.
Kallas took up her post as the new EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy on December 1. On the same day, she traveled to Kiev together with the head of the European Council, Antonio Costa. According to European media outlets, during the visit she mentioned discussions still underway on sending Western troops to Ukraine. According to her, Europe must play an important role in the event of achieving a ceasefire which may involve deploying troops to monitor its observance.