According to certain forecasts, Russia prepares for a regional war with NATO forces in Eastern Europe in 2021. NATO troops will not be ready by that time, as military expert Oleksiy Arestovych told the “Apostrophe”.
According to Arestovych, the Kremlin’s plans do not include Ukraine negotiating peace in the Donbas.
“Russia needs this war to resolve its issues with the West coalition. Russia is not planning to end the war. In political science this process is called “Finlandization”, meaning it’s a way of making an independent country with a weak army refuse to oppose and, in the best case scenario, give guarantees of not entering EU and NATO. As it is difficult to do directly, they need to return the so-called “republics” to Ukraine. This would give them a chance to influence Ukraine’s national policy and, through it, the foreign policy. Russia’s main short-term goal is creating conditions under which it would become impossible for Ukraine to enter EU and NATO. They’re working hard to achieve it, while our idiotic politicians play by their rules. In a year or year and half they will realize that it’s impossible to come to agreement with Russia. If they try to reach an agreement at the expense of concessions, the people who fought in this war will overthrow them,” Arestovych stated.
The expert believes that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to Washington D.C. will change his rhetoric on war.
“He’ll get his brains fixed there. They’ll talk to him about peace and everything else. The US views Ukraine as a part of NATO’s collective safety. Europe is currently in the state akin to the one it was in during the Cold War. NATO announced more than 20 military trainings for the nearest future. It is the highest level of preparation since, perhaps, World War II. Russia’s operative readiness for a regional war with NATO in Belorussia, Baltic States, Poland, and Ukraine is approximately 2021. NATO has recently published a report stating they don’t have time to get the troops and infrastructure against Russia ready. They need five years and 250 billion dollars to do that. That’s why Zelensky’s talks about peace are currently irrelevant for the US,” Arestovych said.