A senior Ukrainian official has warned that the total collapse and disintegration of Vladimir Putin’s Russia has begun and that the West must prepare.
Oleksey Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said the West should be on high alert, having failed in the past to prepare for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Danilov said he and Ukraine believe Russia is on the verge of collapse in “spectacular” fashion over the next few years.
But he warned that China currently has the upper hand over the Kremlin’s imminent capitulation. He said that if the West allows China to seize territory in Russia, a new serious problem will arise.
The senior Ukrainian official spoke as Finland officially joined NATO today, securing its place in the Western alliance.
Danilov said he and Ukraine believe Russia is on the brink of collapse in “spectacular” fashion over the next few years.. Pictured: Putin arrives for a Security Council meeting in Moscow, on Friday.
Oleksey Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said that the West should be on high alert, having failed to prepare for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Speaking in an interview with timesDanilov declared: “The West does not know Russia and the West is afraid of fragmentation in Russia. But this process is already underway.
Over the past months, the ongoing conflict has centered around the eastern city of Bakhmut near the Donetsk region, with neither side making significant gains.
With progress on either side deadlocked, the focus was on diplomacy for each country. Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Moscow for his three-day summit with Putin.
The visit was an attempt by Moscow to show close ties with Beijing against Western allies, especially the United States. But Danilov believes the visit simply showed the Kremlin’s weakness.
Danilov said that Russia had lost power over allies loyal to it in Asia, and now China was waiting for Russia’s collapse to seize far eastern Siberia where there was a large Chinese population.
He said, “Allowing China to seize Russian lands would be dangerous for the West because by solving one problem it will create another.” times. “There should be initial steps by the West now.”
And Danilov points to the outcome of the summit, noting that China did not agree to supply weapons to Russia, and although the friendship between the two countries was declared “without borders”, no such mention was made in the final declarations.
Davelov said times: “China is a big country and will be a strong competitor to the Anglo-Saxon world. Now it is the owner of Russia. Russia will no longer do any important business without them. Russia has completely lost its sovereignty. This is a fact.”
He said that China was only acting in its own interest when it rejected Western sanctions over the purchase of Russian oil and gas, and that China’s hand was only strengthened because of this.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks in front of a memorial plaque outside the school in the village of Yehidny, Chernihiv Region, on Monday.
Ukrainian soldiers fire a BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system towards Russian forces, amid Russia’s offensive on Ukraine, in the Donetsk region, February 11, 2023.
Ukrainian soldiers from different battalions take part in a military psychological combat training exercise at an undisclosed location near the border with Belarus, in Ukraine, March 11, 2023.
This followed Danilov’s announcement on Sunday of a series of steps the government in Kiev will take after the country regains control of Crimea, including dismantling the strategic bridge linking the captured Black Sea peninsula with Russia.
Danilov published the plan as the Ukrainian military prepares for a spring counteroffensive in hopes of making new and decisive gains after more than 13 months of war to end Russia’s all-out invasion.
Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, but most of the world does not recognize it as a Russian territory. The future status of the peninsula will be a key feature of any negotiations to end the current fighting.
The Kremlin demanded that Ukraine recognize Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea and recognize Moscow’s other territorial gains as a condition for peace. Kiev ruled out any peace talks with Moscow until Russian forces left all occupied lands, including Crimea.
Danilov suggested prosecuting Ukrainians who worked in the Moscow-appointed administration in Crimea, adding that some would face criminal charges and others would lose state pensions and be denied public office.
Danilov wrote on Facebook that all Russian citizens who moved to Crimea after 2014 should be expelled, and all real estate deals made under Russian rule cancelled.
As part of the plan, he also called for the dismantling of a 19-kilometre (12-mile) bridge built by Russia for Crimea. And in October, a truck bomb severely damaged the bridge, the longest in Europe and a symbol of Moscow’s conquest of the peninsula.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023.
Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Moscow for his three-day summit with Putin, which was filmed at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on March 21, 2023.
Russia repaired the damaged section of the bridge and restored the flow of supplies to Crimea, which was a major hub for the Russian army during the war. Moscow blamed Ukrainian military intelligence for the attack. Kiev has not claimed responsibility, but Ukrainian officials have repeatedly threatened to strike the bridge in the past.
Danilov also advocated renaming the city of Sevastopol, which had been the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet since the 19th century. He said it could be called “Object No. 6” before Ukrainian parliaments chose another name, suggesting “Akhtyar” after a village that once stood where the city is now.
Mikhail Razvogayev, the Moscow-appointed chief of Sevastopol, dismissed Danilov’s plan as “sick”.
It would be a mistake to take patients’ comments seriously. They must be treated, and this is what our army is doing now.
Danilov released his plan as Ukrainian forces prepare to use newly supplied Western weaponry, including dozens of battle tanks, to breach Russian defenses and retake occupied areas in a counter-offensive expected early this month.
