NATO Country Leader Says the West Has 'Repeatedly' Misjudged War in Ukraine

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said that Western leaders have "repeatedly erred in assessing" the war between Russia and Ukraine, writing in a recent opinion piece that Kyiv is incapable of launching any meaningful counteroffensive despite receiving billions of dollars in military aid.

Fico, a member of the left-wing Smer party in Slovakia, criticized other NATO countries in an op-ed published by Slovak newspaper Pravda.sk on Tuesday, writing that the West's "failed strategy" against Russia's aggression is "beginning to cause wrinkles on my forehead." He also wrote about rejecting the "black-and-white vision" of the war that is "desired in Washington or Brussels," and blamed Moscow's invasion on the United States' influence on Kyiv's government, starting in 2014.

"Russia responded to the security situation and Ukraine's pressure to join NATO by violating international law, using military force without an international mandate," Fico wrote. "Big countries often do that, let's see what the US accomplished in Iraq."

"And the West, instead of immediately making every effort to achieve a quick ceasefire, at the beginning of 2022 without even losing a tenth to Ukraine, made a huge mistake," he added. "[The West] incorrectly evaluated the use of Russian military force as an opportunity to bring Russia to its knees."

Before being named Slovakia's prime minister for a fourth time in October, Fico campaigned on a promise to end his country's military support for Ukraine, and has repeatedly criticized the West's extensive sanctions on Russia. Despite Bratislava's unwavering support for Kyiv since the start of the war, Slovakia's government rejected a $43 million aid package to Ukraine in November under Fico's leadership, potentially signaling a shift in the country.

In his op-ed, Fico wrote that he was not "happy" that his country has been made a "mortal enemy" of Russia, and said that despite the massive sanctions, Russia's military and economy have continued to survive.

"The facts are inexorable," Fico wrote. "Russia completely controls the occupied territories militarily, and attempts to convince the international community with demagoguery about the demoralization of the Russian soldiers and the huge human losses are increasingly showing themselves as empty demagogic wishful thinking."

The Slovak leader also predicted that continued Western military aid to Ukraine will be "to no avail," adding that the impacts will leave the EU "perhaps 50 billion euros ... lighter" and that Ukraine's cemeteries "will be fuller by thousands of dead soldiers."

"Unfortunately, common sense will not win, although we are all ordered to immediately declare a truce and sit down at the negotiating table," Fico continued. "It is evident that the futile waste of human resources and money and the passage of time will not worsen Russia's negotiating position, on the contrary, it will strengthen it, because in a few years the international community will also begin to organize a retreat when looking at the reality."

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department pushed back on Fico's op-ed in a statement to Newsweek on Thursday, saying that Ukraine will prevail with the help of NATO's military and financial support. The spokesperson also noted that Slovakia has played a major role in supporting Ukraine in the war so far, such as providing "almost $800 million in military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine."

"As President [Joe] Biden said, the stakes of this fight extend far beyond Ukraine," the spokesperson added. "They affect the entirety of the NATO Alliance, the security of Europe, and the future of the Transatlantic relationship."

Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry via email on Wednesday for comment.

While NATO members have remained steadfast in their support for Ukraine, several countries have faced roadblocks in sending additional military aid. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said last week that Washington will not continue to provide Kyiv with military assistance at the same level it has, adding that the ultimate goal would be to transition Ukraine "to stand on its own feet and to help Ukraine build its own industrial base and its own military industrial base."

Republican lawmakers have also pushed back on Biden's requests for additional funding that must be passed through Congress, with some GOP members arguing that Ukraine should instead look toward reaching negotiations with Russia in the near future.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the war will not end until all Russian-occupied territory is returned to Kyiv's control.

Update 1/11/24, 12:26 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional comment from the U.S. State Department.