Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned of the potential repercussions for the European Union if Ukraine did not win its war against Russia, telling CNBC that “if Ukraine fails, war will break out in the streets of European cities.”
“Putin today does not have the strengths and powers to fight multiple wars,” Kuleba said, pointing to the recent fall of Bashar al-Assad’s Russian-backed regime in Syria as an example. However, Kuleba warned, he has “the resources to fight one war at a time,” meaning that if Ukraine falls, Europe will be next in the Russian president's sights.
Regarding NATO membership – a guarantee that Ukraine has been seeking for years – Kuleba described it as a necessary step to prevent renewed conflict with Russia in the future.
He added, “Suspending Ukraine's membership in NATO could theoretically help end the fighting and achieve a ceasefire, but it will not prevent a second war between Russia and Ukraine.”
A view of the devastation caused by the Russian attack in Kostyantinivka, Ukraine on November 21, 2024.
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Kuleba added that security guarantees as an alternative to membership are not enough, saying that most of the proposals have already been given to Ukraine as part of commitments signed with multiple countries including the UK.
The former minister was confident that when “serious people” sit down to discuss the possibility of Ukraine joining the alliance, they will realize that this is the only way forward.
The issue of Ukraine's NATO membership has been fraught and sensitive for many of the organization's members, whose unanimous consent requires admission of a new member state.
President-elect Donald Trump
With President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House in January, Kuleba said it was not yet clear what specific policies he would implement, describing recent talks between Zelensky and Trump as a “good sign.” The two leaders met in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron before the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. After meeting with the Ukrainian president, Trump called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the war that has been ongoing for nearly three years.
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba attends a joint briefing with Foreign Minister of the Netherlands Hanke Bruins-Sloat.
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Donald Trump previously claimed during his campaign that if elected, he could end the war “within 24 hours.” On the other hand, Kuleba stressed that the “key to peace” is in Moscow, not in Kiev. The former Secretary of State said Trump's primary focus should be on how to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate in good faith.
Regarding the possible terms of the peace agreement, Kuleba said that President Zelenskyy would do “everything in his power not to allow any peace settlement to come at the expense of Ukraine” – and that no political leader in Ukraine could ever allow the ceding of territory. Because it contradicts the country's constitution.
Using American weapons to strike inside Russia
Speaking to Time magazine this week, President-elect Trump criticized President Joe Biden's recent major policy change that allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied ATACMS systems to strike Russian territory. He described the move as “crazy” and accused the administration of “escalating the war and making it worse.”
Earlier Friday, a Kremlin spokesman praised Trump's criticism, saying his comments were in line with “Moscow's view of the reasons for the escalation.”
When asked about Trump's comments, Kuleba said that Ukraine “cannot sit idly by” while Russia continues to escalate. “When the enemy throws more and more cannon fodder into the battle to seize more villages and square kilometers of your territory…there is nothing bad in escalating again,” he said.
In the early hours of Friday morning, Russia launched a large-scale attack targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian government stated that nearly 200 drones and 93 missiles were launched into the country during the attack.
