Ukraine says ‘biggest problem’ it faces in war with Russia is fear of escalation among allies

ISTANBUL

Ukraine’s foreign minister said Wednesday that the biggest problem that Kyiv faces is that its allies are reluctant to approve new policies to support it because they fear it will lead to an escalation in the war with Russia.

“Ever since the beginning of the large-scale invasion (by Russia), the biggest problem Ukraine has been facing is the domination of the concept of escalation in the decision-making processes among our partners,” Dmytro Kuleba said during a panel in the Polish city of Olsztyn which was chaired by his counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski.

Kuleba said that “every request” made by Ukraine for the delivery of new types of weapons was rejected because of the idea that this may push Russia to escalate the conflict further.

He said Ukraine could have been in a stronger position than it is today “if the fear of escalation was not (the) predominant decision-making factor among our partners.”

“This is the most difficult thing that I’ve had to handle since the beginning of the war: how to make countries think without always looking at how will Moscow respond,” he added.

Kuleba arrived in Poland earlier Wednesday as part of an official visit, where he held talks with Sikorski.

"We thoroughly discussed a broad agenda. In the military sphere, we focused on the issue of MIG jets and agreed on further steps to create the possibility for Ukraine's neighbors to intercept from their territory Russian missiles and drones in Ukrainian airspace," Kuleba said on X.

On Thursday, Kuleba will visit the Belgian capital Brussels, where he will attend an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers.