Volker: Russia's goal is to drive a wedge between Ukraine and the West
Russia does not intend to occupy the entire territory of Ukraine, but is pursuing political goals: to "destabilize Ukraine, influence Kyiv's policy and try to drive a wedge between Ukraine and the West," stated US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker in an interview with Deutsche Welle published on Wednesday, January 24.
Volker said that the situation in the Donbas is "certainly not a civil war." According to the Special Representative, Russian-speaking people live in various regions of Ukraine, and there is no conflict or discrimination amongst them; on the other hand, the conflict has only affected one region.
"Why? Because it started with a hybrid war, with a small-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine," the US Special Representative noted.
In his opinion, " Russia hoped to bring a friendlier government to power in Kyiv to keep Ukraine in its sphere of influence," but this has had an opposite effect.
"It all ended in tragedy, as so many people are affected by this conflict. More than ten thousand people have been killed and more than a million people have been displaced, but Russia has not achieved its goals in Ukraine," the American politician said.
On Tuesday, January 23, Kurt Volker arrived in Ukraine for an official visit. He discussed the situation in the Donbas with President Petro Poroshenko, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko, and the Minister on Issues of Occupied Territories and IDPs Vadym Chernysh.
On Wednesday, January 24, Volker discussed a bill on the reintegration of the Donbas with Oleksandr Turchynov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine.