(MENAFN) Czech President Petr Pavel has stated that Ukraine might need to accept the temporary loss of some territories in order to preserve its sovereignty and avoid further devastating casualties. In an interview with the BBC on Monday, Pavel, a former NATO Military Committee chair and strong advocate for Ukraine’s NATO membership, argued that Kiev lacks the military capacity to reclaim its occupied regions quickly without suffering heavy losses.

“Ukraine is not currently capable of liberating all occupied areas without paying a very high price in human lives,” he said. “If preserving Ukraine’s sovereignty means temporarily accepting some territorial occupation, then that may be necessary.” However, he emphasized that the West would never recognize these territories as legitimately part of Russia.

Pavel also stressed that military efforts alone will not bring an end to the conflict. Instead, he called for greater use of political and economic pressure on Russia, saying, “This war cannot be won on the battlefield. Economic sanctions are powerful tools that can influence decision-making without causing death.”

His remarks follow years of skepticism from Pavel about Ukraine’s military prospects. He had previously criticized Kiev’s 2023 counteroffensive as lacking the manpower for success.

The Kremlin continues to insist that any peace agreement must include recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as Russian territories, along with Ukraine’s renunciation of NATO membership and commitment to demilitarization. Ukraine has consistently rejected those conditions.

MENAFN06082025000045015687ID1109891050