Ukrainian Defence Lead Warns Putin Is Already Attacking The West And Will Not Stop At Ukraine
3 min read
Ukraine’s defence attaché in London has warned the UK government that Vladimir Putin will not stop at Ukraine if he manages to take over the country, and that a war against Nato is already underway.
Captain Dmytro Donskoi, defence attaché at the Ukrainian embassy in London, said allies had not yet woken up to the reality that Putin is attacking the "collective west" – not just Ukraine – and that a stronger response, including a no-fly zone, is needed to stop the Russian president from sending tanks further into Europe.
The UK and its Nato allies have so far refused to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine on the grounds that it would risk a major escalation and drag the defence bloc into direct military conflict with Moscow. A no-fly zone, which Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for, would mean forcifully keeping Russian military planes out of Ukrainian territory and shooting down Putin's aircraft if there is no other option.
In an interview with The House magazine, Donskoi said this logic was false because he believed a conflict between Nato and Russia was already underway.
“The response from the Western community is that they don't want to start the third World War. But the third world war has already started," he said.
"Because it's a war between values. It's a war between civilizations.
"And if West lets Putin win this war, he'll not stop at the Ukrainian border. In their talk shows they are discussing who will be the next — whether it will be Baltic countries, whether it'll be Poland".
Donskoi stressed that a Russian missile attack on the Yavoriv International Centre for Peacekeeping and Security in eastern Ukraine over the weekend, which killed 35 people, was just 15 miles from the border of Nato member Poland.
“Putin thinks he is fighting the collective West and values that he doesn't share, whereas the West pretends Putin is fighting Ukraine only," he said.
The captain said Ukrainian forces "can do the job on the ground" in pushing back against Russian forces but needed the help of the UK to "close the skies" to Putin's planes.
"That’s why we’re asking for no fly zone: to protect both critical infrastructure like nuclear power plant and civilian buildings like hospitals," he added.
In his interview with The House, Donskoi thanked the "hundreds" of British people who were heading out to the war-torn region to fight alongside Ukrainian troops.
The government has told Brits to not travel Ukraine to fight, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace saying only "trained military personnel" should consider joining the resistence. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss late last month said she would support Brits joining international brigades in Ukraine, a statement which people immediately responded to, before being overruled by Downing Street.
Donskoi said some of his friends had been killed in action but that it was a price worth paying for Ukraine's freedom. “We’re ready to fight for our freedom and we’re ready to die for our freedom. Freedom for Ukrainians is essential so there is no choice: it's a matter of survival," he said.
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