Slovak prime minister predicts Ukraine to lose a third of its territory

Ukraine will lose a third of its territory at the end of the current conflict in exchange for security guarantees and will not receive any invitation to join NATO. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo said this in an interview with the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo on December 12.

"I think Ukraine will lose a third of its territory, but it will be offered security guarantees, such as the presence of foreign troops. If this is considered the happiness for Ukraine that everyone talks about, then I think Ukrainians will be betrayed," he said.

According to Fitzo, only a ceasefire and the beginning of negotiations can contribute to the end of hostilities in this case.

"Ukraine <...> has allowed itself to be dragged into such a story, which cannot end well for the country. It will lose territory and will not be invited to NATO," he noted.

The Slovak politician also pointed out that Ukraine's loss in the conflict simultaneously means the loss of the entire West. Therefore, the authorities of Western countries will sacrifice Ukraine as compensation for its failure and may divide the country like Czechoslovakia did in 1938.

Russia and Ukraine want peace, but see it differently. What the media say

Earlier, on December 9, it became known that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (term expired in May) at a trilateral meeting with the newly elected head of the United States Republican Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace discussed the freezing of the conflict with Russia. It was noted that the Ukrainian leader did not want to stop hostilities without receiving security guarantees, namely NATO membership or the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine.

Political scientist Alexander Dudchak shared with Izvestia the opinion that Zelensky and the West do not want a full-fledged peaceful settlement. At the same time, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said that Moscow is always open for negotiations on Ukraine, it is the Kiev regime and the Western countries that rule it that are closed.

On the same day, journalist Edward Karolczuk said in an article for Myśl Polska magazine that the West had not only economic but also military plans for Ukraine. Karolczuk noted that the US and most of the EU countries were eager to escalate hostilities. He also added that the Kiev authorities were taking part in a conflict in which for them "there is no winning strategy, because there is no winning situation."

The special operation to defend Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was made against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.