Brussels, Aug 13,2025: Ahead of the upcoming Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Sir Richard Shirreff, has expressed doubts whether the summit will at all prove effective in ending the war, claiming that only a ‘bloody nose’ will force the Kremlin to end the conflict.
“Russia has to recognise and Putin has to recognise that Zelenskyy is president of Ukraine, recognise the Ukrainian constitution and Ukraine’s right to exist as a sovereign state. And that is only going to happen … when Russia gets a really bloody nose.
“And for that to happen, we need to see some proper strategic thinking from NATO – from the president of the United States – that recognises that this is about transatlantic security,” he told BBC.
He further advocated for Ukraine’s membership into the NATO, stating that it was imperative to ending the war.
“Even if Putin moves on or falls under a bus, we’re probably likely to get somebody in place just as hard-line, just as ultra-nationalistic, and just as determined to press on (with Russia’s takeover of Ukraine),” Shirreff said.
“So, I think we have to recognise that European security means deterrence – a band of deterrent steel, as I’ve said many times – from the Baltic to the Black Sea, with Ukraine as a NATO member.
“Now, however far-fetched that may seem from where we are at the moment, that’s the reality. … Any sort of compromise now, any so-called freezing of conflict, is only going to continue to postpone it.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the US that it will not agree to any territorial concessions, nor accept a decision in which it has no part in, stating “Talk about us, without us, it will not work.”
He further criticised the US mediations in ending the three-year-long war, claiming that the diplomatic discussions led by Washington on the matter failed to address key Ukrainian demands, including security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression and including Europe in negotiations and rehabilitate.
