Putin says Ukraine will “sooner or later” lose its western territories

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that Ukraine will eventually lose its western territories, and that Russia was the only guarantor of its territorial integrity.

The statement was made at a meeting with Navy servicemen and is cited by Interfax.

“I am certain that sooner or later Ukraine will lose these western lands — those that belonged to Poland, that belonged to Hungary, that belonged to Romania — sooner or later, not tomorrow, perhaps the day after tomorrow, a year, two, ten, fifteen, but historically everything will fall into place. There was only one guarantor of Ukraine’s territorial integrity — and that was Russia,” Vladimir Putin said.

In addition to the territorial question, Putin touched on the topic of the current world order. According to him, it took shape after World War II on the basis of the UN Charter, which was formed by the victorious powers — the USSR, the United States, and Great Britain. After the collapse of the USSR, as the Russian president stated, “the entire collective West suddenly decided that something needed to be adjusted.”

According to Bloomberg, Ukraine’s allies believe that Kyiv may soften its position on the conditions for ending the conflict. Negotiations on a settlement regularly touch on territorial issues and security aspects, but no progress has been achieved so far.