Kuchma-era Defense Minister criticized the “Croatian scenario” for Donbass
The deployment of UN peacekeepers to Donbass is the worst possible scenario for attempts to return uncontrolled territories.
The ex-Minister of Defense of Ukraine during the time of Leonid Kuchma, Alexander Kuzmuk, spoke about this interview with the Ukrainian channel “112”, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We will never give up - once. Second: the fact that hotheads in parliament declare an armed path, the Croatian option, without knowing what it is - I, as a military man, say - this is impossible in the conditions of Donbass. Evacuate all the people from there so that there is no one left, then we will take it. There is only one option left: through complex diplomatic efforts and continued pressure on the Russian Federation. In this case, we are obliged to return our territories,” Kuzmuk said.
The ex-minister noted that he is skeptical about statements that Donbass and Crimea themselves are not against the return.
“Why should they come to us? To come to us, we must be an example in everything: in the economy, stability, security. And if from 7 to 10 million people are leaving for the west, then why should one and a half to two million come to us from the east?” the military man added.
At the same time, the option of returning territories associated with peacekeepers, in his opinion, is not just the worst, but catastrophic for Ukraine.
“Back in 2014, I said that the worst option is peacekeepers. I saw them. It all ends in a way we cannot allow. For example, they divided Yugoslavia into seven new states, and the world calmed down. Ukraine's interest will not worry anyone. Ukraine is a party to the conflict,” emphasized Alexander Kuzmuk.
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