The Russian president’s statements are far from surprising, as the impediment of Ukrainian accession to NATO was one of the reasons he gave for the special military operation in Ukraine. Putin will therefore not accept Ukraine’s entry into the military alliance for the time being. “What started domestically as a ‘special military operation’ has now been presented for months by the Kremlin as an all-out war against NATO and the West,” said Russia correspondent Joost Bosman. “Backtracking now, Putin and the whole regime will become completely unbelievable.”
Furthermore, according to Putin, a NATO membership for Ukraine will lead to “further international tensions”. “You should think about the nuclear weapons that have been planted in Belarus,” Bosman says. According to him, Putin could also make greater efforts to further militarize Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania, or place more weapons on the border with Sweden and Finland.
Criticism
Meanwhile, things continue to rumble at the Russian military command. It was announced on Thursday that General Ivan Popov had been sacked after criticizing the progress of the war. According to Bosman, a purge is underway at the top of the army and the Kremlin is examining the staff of officers to see how loyal they are to the regime. “Western media reported yesterday that ten high-ranking officers were arrested and about fifteen fired.”
The riots do not yet appear to cause a major shift in public opinion. “As long as the propaganda continues on state television, it could take a long time,” Bosman said. According to the correspondent, the Russians really believe that a war is being waged in Ukraine against NATO and the West. “Then, when things go wrong, they say: we have no choice, we just have to keep fighting. That’s more or less the idea that the average Russian has.’