'Ukraine will disappear as no one needs it', says Russian official
A man looks at the smoke after explosions were heard as Russia's attacks on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 5, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
Ukraine will "disappear" as "no one needs it," a top Russian security official said on Saturday.
In a statement on Russian social network VK, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council, said Europe does not need Ukraine because it is already experiencing "a financial and political hell" provoked by its support to Kyiv.
According to Medvedev, influx of Ukrainian refugees, soaring inflation, "colossal" bills for heat and electricity, suffering European business, and unprofitable Russian sanctions led to discontent in both Western and Eastern Europe.
He also said Poland periodically "probes the idea" of annexation of Ukraine's western regions, leaks the relevant information to the media, and analyses the reaction for such a possibility.
If Ukraine continues its existence, Europe in the future will have to take it for its full provision, which is another reason why the continent does not want it, he claimed.
The US also does not need Ukraine, he argued, saying that while some US politicians use Ukraine to "make publicity" on the matter, ordinary Americans do not understand why their government is busy with Ukraine and send lots of money to Kyiv instead of dealing with its own problems.
Medvedev insisted that Africa and Latin America do not need Ukraine either, because they have their own problems and do not understand why Ukraine gets all the money that could be used for the "reimbursement" of the colonial past.
He further claimed that Asia does not need Ukraine because it sees in Russia's case how colour revolutions are used to eliminate competitor states and understands what it will face "in case of disobedience."
"In addition, such giant countries as India, China, and other countries of the Asia-Pacific region have enough problems with economic recovery after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.
Medvedev emphasised that Moscow does not need "parts of Russia named as Ukraine in 1991," it instead needs "Big Great Russia."
The Ukrainian citizens do not need Ukraine either, he said, pointing out that only 20 million out of 45 million people stayed in Ukraine, while the rest left or want to leave it for any country where they can live quietly.
Ukrainian citizens are forced to wander so that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team can get more money, storing it on offshore accounts, Medvedev said.
"Such a Ukraine is not needed by anyone on the planet. That is why it will not exist," he concluded.