Ukraine is currently not in a position to begin peace talks with Russia, NATO chief Mark Rutte told members of the European Parliament on January 13 as Russian forces concentrate their main offensive efforts around the city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region and in the Russian region of Kursk.
Ukraine cannot "at this moment negotiate from a position of strength," Rutte said. "We have to do more to make sure by changing the trajectory of the conflict that they can get to that position of strength."
Rutte spoke a week before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to seek a swift end the war in Ukraine. The promises have sparked fears that U.S. support for Kyiv could decline and Ukraine's leaders could be forced to make painful concessions.
"We all want this war to end, but above all, we want peace to last," Rutte said. "Peace will not last if [Russian President Vladimir] Putin gets his way in Ukraine because then he will press ahead."
SEE ALSO: Zelenskiy Huddles With European Leaders In Brussels Ahead Of Trump's ReturnRutte reiterated his insistence that Europe needs to massively ramp up its defense spending, saying the alliance's threshold of 2 percent of gross domestic product is "not nearly enough" to face the threat from Moscow.
"If we don't do it, we are safe now but not in four or five years," he said. "So, if you don't do it, get out your Russian-language courses or go to New Zealand."
On the battlefield, the situation remains tense around Pokrovsk and in Kursk, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said late on January 13.
Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions in more than a dozen settlements around Pokrovsk 74 times on January 13. Five clashes were still ongoing as of 10 p.m. local time, the report said.
Ukrainian forces "successfully repelled" 11 enemy attacks in Kursk, according to the General Staff.
In the Sumy region, a 54-year-old woman died and her 65-year-old husband was injured after a drone strike on their car, the regional prosecutor's office reported on Telegram. The civilian car was moving through a community when it was hit, the prosecutors said, adding that an investigation into possible war crimes has been launched.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on January 13 that he and French President Emmanuel Macron again discussed the idea of Western "partner contingents" being deployed to Ukraine.
Speaking in his evening address, the Ukrainian leader did not say whether he was talking about the West sending combat troops or peacekeepers as part of a settlement to end the war.
He described the conversation as "rather long and detailed" and said it covered military support, including various forms of defense and arms packages for Ukraine.
Macron has floated the idea of sending Western troops to Ukraine before, including last month when Zelenskiy said that he and Macron discussed it in detail.
"We continued working on President Macron’s initiative regarding the presence of forces in Ukraine that could contribute to stabilizing the path to peace," Zelenskiy said on December 18.