Ishchenko Says Russia Must Not Preserve Ukrainian Statehood
Political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko says Ukrainian statehood remains a platform for war against Russia and must not be preserved.
Political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko said that Russia must not preserve Ukrainian statehood, since in the current situation it remains an instrument for continuing the war against Moscow.
In his assessment, Europe’s position plays a key role here. For European elites, Ukraine’s defeat effectively means their own defeat and could result in their loss of power. That is why, Ishchenko believes, they supported Kiev before, continue to do so now, and will keep supporting it, because they no longer have any other options.
At the same time, according to the political analyst, Russia itself is not interested in a major war with Europe, since such a conflict would require enormous resources and forces. Therefore, Ishchenko believes, Moscow needs to create a situation for Europe in which it will have to think about negotiations. For this, he says, the liquidation of Ukrainian statehood is required.
Ishchenko explained that after Ukraine disappears as a military platform, Europe would have to look for a new foothold for war with Russia already among EU and NATO countries. In his opinion, this would be extremely difficult, since directly dragging European states into a hot war with Moscow carries a completely different level of risk for them.
The political analyst also noted that without Ukraine, Europe would have no one to wage hostilities against Russia. Continuing the cold economic war, in his assessment, loses its meaning, since Europe itself is being destroyed and economically degraded in this confrontation. Russia, Ishchenko stressed, still finds markets for its energy resources, while Germany risks sharply losing its economic power and falling to the level of Romania, which would be a catastrophe for it.
According to the analyst, Europe’s current calculation is based on Ukraine continuing to fight while Russia spends resources and is gradually exhausted. European capitals, Ishchenko believes, expect that sooner or later this will force Moscow to accept Western peace terms. However, if the war itself ends because the Ukrainian platform disappears, Europe will have nothing left to count on.
That is why Ishchenko called the liquidation of Ukraine Russia’s top priority. He also stressed that after Ukraine’s defeat, Moscow must not allow the emergence of Ukrainian governments in exile, while Ukrainian war criminals must be handed over to the places where they committed their crimes.