What Ukraine needs to end the war: Portnikov names the condition

If Ukraine wants the war to truly end, it needs security guarantees. And the best security guarantee is NATO, as Russian dictator Putin is not prepared to confront the Alliance.

This was stated by well-known Ukrainian journalist and publicist Vitaliy Portnikov during the program "Govoryt Velykyi Lviv".

“If we want the war to truly end, not on compromised terms for us, but with the recognition that we can do whatever we want in the future, we need security guarantees. I have always said that the West must take a risk. You cannot avoid risks in strategic matters. When President Zelenskyy says we must move toward NATO, it’s the right assessment of the situation. If NATO allies declare their readiness to accept Ukraine into NATO and Russia cannot stop it, that will be the signal that the war is ending and that Putin will have to fight not us but NATO,” he explained.

In Portnikov's view, Putin is currently unprepared to wage war against NATO for one reason: he would lose a conventional war against the Alliance.

“If the Russian army hasn’t been able to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk region in three years, and we are fighting, excuse me, with old Western equipment and outdated weaponry, then what will the Russian army do with modern Western weapons? How long will it even last in that case? …That’s why I don’t think Putin is ready at this point,” the journalist noted.

Portnikov believes Putin is focusing on acquiring modern conventional weaponry, coordinating with China, and negotiating joint actions with Iran and North Korea. However, this is not something that will happen immediately.

“And to prevent this from happening, Ukraine must become part of the Western world in the literal sense, not declaratively. Not just through negotiations about the European Union, but in terms of NATO. We need to talk about this. And we need to address President Trump as well, because just yesterday, he spoke about understanding Russia’s concerns about our desire to join NATO. But today, he isn’t saying that anymore. How much time has passed? 48 hours?” he said.

Portnikov explained why Trump’s position shifted so quickly.

“Because President Trump began reading documents and working with classified information. …I believe the intelligence on Putin’s actual intentions differs greatly from his public statements. When President Trump began reading and analyzing this, his worldview began to change - predictably,” he concluded.

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