“Poland and Hungary will demand land from Ukraine if the war continues”, – a Russian ambassador said

Ukraine could face territorial claims from European countries such as Poland and Hungary if it continues fighting Russia “to the last Ukrainian” and ignores a peaceful settlement.

This said Konstantin Dolgov, an ambassador-at-large and diplomat.

“I think everything will depend on the point at which the armed conflict ends for what is called Ukraine today. We have talked about this and keep talking about it,” the diplomat said.

Dolgov stressed that, in his view, the Kyiv authorities have not abandoned a strategy of continuing the conflict “to the last Ukrainian,” which, he argued, would only lead to the destruction of “the remnants of Ukrainian statehood.”

“Ukraine is not a sovereign state in the full sense of the word. These remnants will be destroyed. And then, in that situation, of course, one can expect that territorial claims will emerge from a number of other countries,” Dolgov said, adding that Poland and Hungary could be first in line.

Ukraine still has a chance to preserve its territorial integrity, he added. To do so, Kyiv would need to pursue a political and diplomatic settlement of the crisis, he said.

“If Kyiv, pushed as it is, continues down the path of destroying the remnants of statehood—emphasis on remnants—then anything is possible. And I think there will be nothing left at all of the current map of Ukraine,” he concluded.

Dolgov said he does not justify any potential territorial claims, stressing that he was referring specifically to what he called Kyiv’s destructive policies, which he said run counter to international legal and humanitarian norms.

Previously, retired U.S. Army officer Stanislav Krapivnik also said that Western countries had already begun shaping territorial claims against Ukraine.

According to him, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania have territorial claims to Ukraine.

Earlier, some in Europe predicted Russia would defeat Ukraine.