A close aide to Vladimir Putin has ominously suggested that Ukraine could “cease to exist”, as speculation swirls about what US President-elect Donald Trump will look like to back up campaign promises to negotiate a swift end to Russia–Ukraine war.
In an interview with pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda discussing Trump’s second term, longtime Putin stooge Nikolai Patrushev acknowledged that “a significant part of the world still looks to America” but argued that “the American elite itself is divided.”
The former secretary of Russia’s Security Council also said the Republican’s policy toward other nations continues to be “unclear.”
Asked about possible territorial concessions that could be agreed during Trump’s presidency, which begins in just a few days, Patrushev reportedly suggested that by the end of 2025, Ukraine would no longer be a sovereign state.
Patrushev first emphasized the “fraternal” bond Russians feel with Ukrainians due to “hundred-year ties with Russia” before repeating the Kremlin’s baseless claims that “violent coercion of neo-Nazi ideology and rampant Russophobia” are to blame for the destruction of Ukraines cities, Newsweek reports.
“It cannot be ruled out that Ukraine will cease to exist altogether in the coming year,” Patrushev said, though he did not elaborate.
The Kremlin has yet to comment.
Trump, meanwhile, has yet to flesh out his goals for talks between them Ukraine and Russia to end the fighting, something he has repeatedly claimed he could achieve in 24 hours.
When asked earlier if he thinks Ukraine should hand over occupied territories to Russiareplied the GOP firebrand that he would discuss it after his first meeting with Putin.
At another point in the interview, Patrushev criticized Moldovan leaders in Chișinău for what he claimed was an “anti-Russian policy”, suggesting that Moldova’s days of independent statehood may also be numbered.
“I do not rule out that Chișinău’s aggressive anti-Russian policy will result in Moldova either becoming part of another state or completely ceasing to exist,” he said, according to Newsweek.
Moldova’s foreign ministry fired back, saying in a statement published by Moldovan news outlet NewsMaker: “Such statements constitute an unacceptable interference in our country’s internal affairs and aim to destabilize the region.
“The Republic of Moldova is a sovereign state that consistently follows the path of democracy and European integration in line with the will of its citizens.”
Last year, Russia was accused of paying off voters to prevent them from backing Moldova to join the EU by 2030.
The pro-EU “Yes” campaign won, though by a much smaller margin than had been expected. The country’s pro-EU president, Maia Sandu, had claimed the alleged Russian interference was an “unprecedented attack on democracy”.
Russia has denied allegations of interference, labeling Moldova’s votes “unfree”.
Moldova has started talks with the bloc that will become member, with further negotiations despite the outcome of the referendum, as it was not legally binding, acc BBC News.
