Poroshenko: “Putin is brutally blackmailing the West”
If earlier for Russian President Vladimir Putin the red line was Ukraine’s membership in NATO, now it is the presence of NATO members on the territory of the Ukrainian state.
The former President of Ukraine, and now the head of European Solidarity, Petro Poroshenko, stated this during the Kyiv Security Forum, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We must not forget that the threat of invasion is permanent, and it has not stopped since 2014; it is always very high. And Putin plans to take over Ukraine not only by direct military means, since in this case he will definitely face powerful resistance from the Ukrainian army and international resistance; the much cheaper option is to take over Ukraine through brutal blackmail of the West. That is why he is now looking for a meeting with Biden and European leaders. It destroys the position that we formed during my term – “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Today this path is undergoing severe blows. That is why Putin is inspiring refugees on the borders of Ukraine and the EU, and the next step is on the border of Ukraine and Belarus. This is why Putin is increasing the degree of energy pressure on Europe. That is why he is signing a decree on economic Anschluss with the occupied part of the Ukrainian Donbass,” the ex-president frightened those present.
“Putin sees the outcome in refusal, so that we are denied membership in the EU and NATO. Already today he is expanding Russian red lines. And if earlier it was said that Ukraine is not in NATO, today Putin replaced it by saying that there is no NATO in Ukraine,” Poroshenko emphasized.
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