The head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Alexey Reznikov said that the plan of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) to "contain" Russia is useless.
As he said in an interview with the Financial Times on December 12, the strategy of "non-provocation" against the Russian Federation "does not work and will never work."
As an example to confirm his position, the Minister recalled the events of 2008. Then Russia, according to him, allegedly helped South Ossetia repel Georgia's attack after France and Germany blocked the country's entry into NATO.
In addition, in the same interview, Reznikov accused the government of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel of blocking Kiev's acquisition of deadly weapons within NATO.
He recalled that last month Germany vetoed Ukraine's purchase of anti-sniper systems and rifles to defeat drones. At the same time, it is noted that Berlin later softened its position on rifles, recognizing them as non-lethal weapons.
At the same time, on December 12, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk expressed the opinion that Kiev should not expect Berlin to supply weapons under Chancellor Scholz. According to him, the previous leadership of Germany explained its refusal to provide weapons by the risk of a military escalation of the conflict in the Donbass, despite the "occupation by Russia" of part of the Ukrainian territory. The diplomat is sure that Germany will maintain the same "illogical" position under the new chancellor.
In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 8 called the question of an "attack" on Ukraine provocative. He noted that Russia pursues a peaceful foreign policy, but it has the right to protect its security.
Relations between Russia and Ukraine became complicated after a coup d'etat took place in Ukraine in 2014. Kiev has launched a military operation against Donbass, whose residents did not agree with the results of the change of power. In the current situation, the Ukrainian authorities blame Moscow, which has repeatedly stressed that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict, and called on Kiev to settle.