Putin won’t stop on Ukraine as he aims for Europe - Reznikov

The suggestion was voiced in Reznikov’s interview with Politico, Ukrinform reports.

Reznikov noted that after U.S. President Joe Biden had made a video call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on December 7, Russia sent even more troops toward the Ukrainian border.

According to him, today about 100,000 Russian troops are concentrated on the line from Crimea to the north-western border of the country with Belarus. These are forces that can attack on several fronts at once with artillery, tanks and aircraft.

Any invasion would be a disaster for both Ukraine and Russia, as it would result in huge casualties and nearly 5 million refugees, the minister said. "It will be Ukrainian blood, it will be Russian blood, and a lot of soldiers from Russia will come to home in coffins (...) It will be a disaster," the minister said.

The Ukrainian government is particularly concerned about the situation at the 15 nuclear power units supplying about half of the country's energy. A war threatens these facilities, the minister said, emphasizing that these NPPs are like a nuclear bomb and recalling the Chornobyl and Fukushima tragedies. "Is it real for Europeans?" Reznikov added.

Russia’s buildup of troops along hundreds of miles of the Ukrainian border, he said, is a way to spread Kyiv’s attention and thin out the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which are now forced to prepare for multiple contingencies at once.

Reznikov noted that Ukraine, however, is not Putin's ultimate goal. Ukraine is the "geographical center of Europe", so if a war breaks out, it will "be in Europe, not just in Ukraine". He believes that Putin is interested not so much in Ukraine itself, but in showing Europe what Russia is capable of. "We are just a part of it, a square on a chessboard," the minister concluded.

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