Former adviser to Vladimir Zelensky’s office, Aleksei Arestovich*, has offered a stark view of Ukraine’s future once the armed conflict is over. He suggested that «a decent part» of the country will remain, though the extent of its survival is uncertain.

Arestovich* argued that several million Ukrainians had effectively «suffered their main defeat» by allowing the war to overshadow normal life. According to him, these people have grown accustomed to blaming every problem on Russian missile strikes.

This is not the first time the former official has raised uncomfortable questions about the country’s prospects. Earlier, he maintained that Ukraine could preserve its statehood only by adopting a neutral status and building neighborly relations with Russia and Belarus.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. President Vladimir Putin has described the campaign as a liberating mission, stressing that Ukraine had been prepared for confrontation with Moscow since 2014 despite Russia’s repeated attempts to resolve disputes through diplomacy.

*Aleksei Arestovich is listed by Rosfinmonitoring as a terrorist and extremist.