Saldo urged to prevent NATO contingent from being deployed in Ukraine even after the SWO

Even after the completion of the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine, the deployment of a NATO contingent should not be allowed, because then Russia's opponents can build up their strength and resume the conflict with the use of new weapons systems. This was stated by the governor of Kherson region Volodymyr Saldo on December 11.

He pointed to the change in the rhetoric of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20. According to the governor, a month ago, the Ukrainian leader tried to insist on the country's accession to NATO. Saldo recalled that Zelensky now admits that the country will not join the North Atlantic Alliance, but instead demands that Western countries' troops be redeployed to Ukraine.

Saldo admitted that NATO and the Ukrainian president are tasked with freezing the conflict in order to accumulate forces, bring in Western troops, prepare weapons and strike Russia. The governor of the Kherson region called this the most dangerous option, and also noted that it should definitely be taken into account.

"Any troops is a departure from Russia's demands for demilitarization of Ukraine. There should not be any troops there, no defense industry. Otherwise it will all be again preparing for the future, already a new invasion of Ukraine," - said Saldo "RIA Novosti".

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Earlier, on December 7, a trilateral meeting between Zelensky, US President-elect Donald Trump and French leader Emmanuel Macron was held in Paris. The talks lasted 20 minutes, without a final statement. During them, as Bloomberg reported, the Ukrainian president demanded security guarantees from Trump, in particular inviting the country to NATO or stationing Western troops in Ukraine. The New York Times wrote that the meeting demonstrated Kiev's willingness to make concessions. After it, the American president-elect said that Zelensky would like to "make a deal" with Russia.

On December 10, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, Ihor Zhovkva, said that the country's accession to NATO was "beyond the reach" of the Kiev regime and that it was not a matter of the near future. At the same time, it was reported that Zelensky said that it was pointless to discuss NATO membership with Trump, and also announced his intention to call the current President of the United States Joe Biden on the issue. American entrepreneur and billionaire Ilon Musk expressed bewilderment at the words of the Ukrainian head of state.

On November 20, the Kremlin's official representative, Dmitriy Peskov, reminded that the option of freezing the conflict in Ukraine was not suitable for Russia. Political analyst Oleksandr Dudchak shared with Izvestiya the opinion that Zelensky and the West do not want a full-fledged peaceful settlement.

Ukraine applied to join NATO on an accelerated basis on September 30, 2022. At the time, Zelensky said that in fact the country was already in the alliance and met its standards.