Mykhailo Podolyakadvisor to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has described the recent statements of the Russian president Vladimir Putin as a sign of “absolute fear” and he assures that he only wants to intimidate the West so that the conflict ends the way he wants.
“Putin just wants to end the war on his terms so as not to be held responsible for war crimes”he expressed in an interview with the German newspaper Bild-Zeitung. In this sense, he asked the West to adopt a tougher stance towards Russia: “You cannot negotiate with Putin. You have to face it clearly and coherently.”
Instead of a dialogue that does not produce results, Podolyak proposes that the West respond with three measures:
- Suspend any attempt at dialogue with the Kremlin.
- Cut economic relations with Russia.
- Provide Ukraine with weapons immediately.
On the other hand, also criticized the German government, especially Chancellor Olaf Scholzfor his recent phone call to Putin. According to the Ukrainian advisor, such contacts lack a real power base and are interpreted by Putin as “a humiliation and a confirmation of his supremacy.
Putin’s warning
The statements to which Podolyak refers are those belonging to a , in which he stated that The use of long-range missiles provided by the West to attack targets in Russia had escalated the conflict in Ukraine to a “global dimension”.
The Russian president accused the western countries to be responsible for this escalation by allowing their weapons to be used on Russian soil and warned that Moscow has the right to respond attacking military installations in those countries.
He also announced the experimental use of a new medium-range missile, called “Oreshnik”as part of what he described as a response to “NATO’s aggressive actions”. In addition, he promised to carry out new attacks, making clear his intention to intensify tensions.
Future of war
Despite the difficult situation, Podolyak showed his confidence that Russia will not win the war. “Russia has not even completely conquered the territory of eastern Ukraine“he recalled before describing the situation as a “mobilization” phase for Moscow.
When asked about a possible “freezing” of the conflicthe said that he did not see it as very realistic. “A freeze it just means postponing the war” he said, warning that Russia would continue working to achieve its goals unless the West responded more decisively.
