Russia will not stop at demands that Ukraine not join NATO, but will raise rates – Reznikov

Photo minre.gov.ua

Russia will not stop only at the demands that Ukraine not join NATO and will raise the stakes.

This was stated by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov in an interview on the BBC channel, UA reports.

He assumes that the Russian Federation will probably demand guarantees for the non-expansion of the Alliance as a whole.

Reznikov is also convinced that the West can do more to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression, namely by imposing strong economic sanctions.

“Russia is at war not with Ukraine, but with NATO. And here you need to understand that their goal is to achieve guarantees about the non-expansion of the Alliance as a whole, and not just with respect to Ukraine. I believe that the civilized world is still playing chess with the Russians. But the Russians play poker. I know the Russians well – they are very pragmatic and now they are raising the stakes” – the minister stressed.

To remind, Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, said that the Ukrainian authorities are doing everything necessary to ensure that our country and the Armed Forces are ready for any scenario.