Will Ukraine have capital in Lvov? Expert tells why it could happen

On the Spotlight Interview, Ruslan Pankratov, a researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries (Russia), explained whether it could happen later that after the negotiations on Ukraine it will be a question of dividing Europe and spheres of influence.

Ruslan Pankratov:

"We should speak frankly: the process of border revision has been launched. And it was launched not by Belarus or Russia, but by the EU. They have decided that they can talk to these countries in the language of ultimatums, threats of military action and intimidation."

He also admitted that there are probably talks among experts about leaving Ukraine with its capital in Lvov, where Poland can pull up to get the Carpathians, and Hungary, and Romania, which is also trying to claim something. "But this is no longer our business. Russia takes back its territories and starts protecting its people. What the Bandera nationalist units want to do, let them do, let them develop their statehood," the researcher emphasized.

It is quite possible that the talks held in Riyadh are the first step. But whatever the case, it is very good that Russia and the United States have agreed to hold talks. Of course, there is still a long way to go before any real steps are taken, because we hear a lot of assurances from the American authorities like “yes, we will” and “yes, we agree”, but we do not see any action.

"Just because Russia and the United States have agreed to be friends and just because they talk about peace does not mean that money flows or arms supplies to Ukraine will sharply stop. Nor does it mean that there will be no more militarization of the Baltic States. As you know, in June 2022, the NATO summit in Madrid adopted a resolution, where it was established that NATO's military contingent should reach more than 300,000 troops by 2026-2027," Ruslan Pankratov said.

And this is, in fact, a huge number. For example, in Finland, the armed forces come to 50 thousand people. If you add the reservists, you have even 200,000.

These numbers include everyone who can hold a gun from young to old. To these people you still have to add maintenance, personnel, tanks, airplanes. This means that the majority of the population consists of military personnel, which indicates a very unhealthy atmosphere and that NATO countries are aiming for military escalation.

The next step, according to the researcher's assumption, could be the creation of a kind of Ukraine out of the Baltics.