At what cost have Western countries kept the fire of the war in Ukraine burning?

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said: “Europeans are seeking to tighten sanctions against Russia so that Kiev can defeat Moscow in the war.” According to RussiaToday, Viktor Orban added: “Budapest supports ending the war in Ukraine through negotiations.”

On the other hand, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "As a result of the war against Russia, Ukraine has been set back 100 years, and Ukraine's energy system has been seriously damaged."

Rubio recently stated in an interview: “The previous US administration somehow led people to believe that Ukraine would not only be able to defeat Russia, but would destroy it.” He added: “As a result, America has been busy financing a deadlock.”

Former US President Joe Biden, who has sent billions of dollars in American weapons to Ukraine since the Russo-Ukrainian war in February 2022, argued that Ukraine's decision to enter into peace talks with Russia depends on Kiev.

Donald Trump also claimed during his presidential election campaign that he would soon end the war, but so far has not offered any solution.

And the British newspaper The Times wrote: "European countries have not yet reached a consensus on sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, and their disagreements continue."

The Times, citing officials and diplomats, wrote: - Britain, France and the Scandinavian countries - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, as well as the autonomous territories of the Aland Islands, Greenland, Svalbard and the Faroe Islands - support a plan to send tens of thousands of European soldiers to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, but Germany, Poland and the Baltic states are opposed to it.

Opponents believe that the implementation of this program could negatively affect NATO's self-defense capabilities.

The implementation of this plan also requires that US President Donald Trump accept it and provide security guarantees in this regard.

According to The Times newspaper, if European countries agree to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, the United States should provide these forces with "airspace" and aircraft and air defense systems.

A British military source said: "London is ready to send 10-25 thousand soldiers to Ukraine, although the implementation of this plan will not be easy."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently announced that 200,000 European peacekeepers would be needed to prevent further Russian aggression after a ceasefire agreement.

Political experts believe that sending a UN-led peacekeeping force to Ukraine is a more sensible plan, in which case Russia will most likely agree to peace.