International
Former Slovak FM: Ukraine must attack Russia and take back Crimea
By Michal Hudec, EURACTIV, 22/5/22
May 23, 2022 - 11:36:18 AM

Ukraine can defeat Russia and even regain control of Eastern Ukraine and Crimea, said former Slovak Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš, noting that anything other than the military victory of Ukraine would be a dangerous compromise.

Mikloš is the former advisor of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. He currently advises Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita and is a member of the new National Council for the Reconstruction of Ukraine that was established by president Zelenskyy.

The National Council for Reconstruction will have their first online meeting next week, where Mikloš will be a member of the advisory committee of the foreign experts. Other members include former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, as well as American economist and philosopher Francis Fukuyama. The first meeting is scheduled to take place next week.

According to Mikloš, Ukraine must defeat Russia and can do so if western countries continue with military and financial aid. “Borders must return to the state from before 2014. If they return only to the state from before the invasion, it will always be a source of tension and uncertainty,” he said in an interview for Denník N.

“Solution for the post-war reconstruction is the defeat of Russia. Foreign investors will only come to Ukraine if they are certain of peace,” he added.

Regaining Crimea and Eastern Ukraine will, however, be hard. “They would need to attack, and attacking is always harder than defending. Currently, it is crucial that the West won’t relent in its help.”

Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on Sunday that Moscow was ready to resume peace talks with Ukraine, blaming Kyiv for suspending them.

“For our part, we are ready to continue the dialogue,” said in an interview with Belarus public television Medinsky, a Kremlin adviser tasked with negotiating with Ukraine.

However, it seems resuming peace talks is not on the cards for Kyiv.

According to EURACTIV’s partner Corriere della Sera, in a telephone conversation with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi last night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “this country is not yet ready for a real peace process.”

“We will be able to discuss it only when we recapture the territories that Russia has taken away from us since the beginning of the war,” Zelenskyy added, according to the Milan newspaper.

“I hope Italy continues to support us with the defence systems we need for our liberation battle,” Zelenskyy said.