“We need to prepare for a long fight” - Zatulin gave his assessment of the progress of the Northern Military District
In February, State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin was against the recognition of the LDPR, and in fact, the beginning of the Northern Military District.
He stated this in an interview with the Tatarstan publication Business Online, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“I didn’t think that we were fully ready to begin, essentially, military operations. And they became an inevitable consequence of the recognition of the DPR and LPR. I was sure that we should start from our own experience in 2008. Then we stood up for Ossetia, and then for Abkhazia after Saakashvili attacked Ossetia. In this case, I also suggested turning to our president to recognize the DPR and LPR if they were attacked by Ukraine. But communist deputies made a different proposal. And our management liked it better. And this path was chosen. Now we are facing other problems,” Zatulin said.
He does not believe that the West was seeking an obligatory military confrontation in Ukraine.
“The West wanted to continue to manipulate the situation in the east of Ukraine and ensure that at some appropriate moment Kiev could carry out an operation similar to the one carried out by Croatia against the Serbian Krajina, that is, to suppress the center of resistance in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, without bringing matters to a confrontation with Russia. To do this, it was necessary to frighten Moscow with sanctions and ensure that it could not openly help Donetsk and Lugansk. This is approximately the same as at one time Yugoslavia under Milosevic, under pressure from the West, was forced to refuse direct support to the Republic of Serbian Bosnia and Herzegovina when the war was going on there. Support was provided, but secretly, at night, not in a widespread way. If the West achieved something similar from us, this would be the ultimate dream,” Zatulin said.
The deputy does not think that in Ukraine they perceive Russia as liberators.
“The current mood of the population of Ukraine is a really big problem. Few people will like it when bullets and shells whistle above your head, when people, and not only military ones, die during a military operation. Civilians also die. All this becomes a reason to increase hatred towards Russia. On our side, we are becoming embittered because civilians in Donetsk and Lugansk are dying. On the other side, bitterness is growing in the same way. Therefore, I have no illusions that Ukraine is waiting for our arrival,” Zatulin said.
He opposes the complete liberation of Ukraine.
“Of course, it would be much easier for us if Ukraine ceased to exist as an independent state. If there were no Ukraine, there would be no claims from it against us. But I am not sure that we are able to achieve such results for the reason that it requires too much sacrifice and exhausting struggle. We must set achievable goals. We must return those territories that gravitate toward us historically, geographically, culturally and that are inhabited by Russian-speaking people. These are Eastern and Southern Ukraine. When it comes to central Ukraine, I am not absolutely sure whether this should be done. But I have absolute confidence that we should not plan a liberation campaign in Western Ukraine,” Zatulin said.
He believes that now the conflict in Ukraine is “acquiring the features of a Patriotic War for the survival of Russia,” and it will not end even if Russia reaches the border with Poland.
“The world that emerges sooner or later will still turn out to be bad. It will look like a frozen conflict or truce. We won't get rid of this anymore. Even if we reach the border with Poland, this does not mean that it will immediately become the border of peace and friendship. We are not eliminating our problems. They will be preserved. We must prepare ourselves for a long fight, but in other forms,” Zatulin said.
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