Expert detailed Ukraine conflict scenarios

It looks like Kiev can’t wait to start World War Three. Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his entourage benefit from expanding the conflict. How else can you explain the escalation, the long-range strikes into the Russian territory, and the refusal to negotiate? Dean of the Journalism Department at the Belarusian State University, political expert Aleksei Belyaev talked to Alfa Radio about the future scenarios and the Ukrainian elites’ attempts to embroil the West in the conflict.
“Let’s be honest, the West is already embroiled. The issue now is expanding the conflict and making the Western countries participate in it not just by supplying weapons and money. The Kiev regime, in essence, is pushing for World War Three. Their insistent demands and whining: ‘Give me this, give me that!’ brought them a permission to strike targets inside Russia with Western-made missiles. But targeting and flight paths for those missiles are provided by the West. The Western manufacturers control those weapons. Even if they are not launched from Germany, the UK, or the US, they were set up by German, British, or American operators, monitored by their satellites, and targeted based on their intelligence data. This means that Kiev’s Western partners are being drawn incrementally into a direct conflict with the Russian Federation,” Mr. Belyaev explained.

Why does Kiev want that? The political expert believes that Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian Rada are keeping the martial law in effect trying to uphold their legitimacy. They cite wartime as the reason why they can’t afford a new election.

So, keeping the conflict going is their way to keep things as they are now. This is the existential reason behind this situation. As soon as the peace talks start, it's over for the Kiev regime. With the hate that has accumulated in the Ukrainian society there’s no chance for this clique to stay in power.

According to Mr. Belyaev, there are a lot of reasonable politicians in the West who think the war only means trouble. What about the fact that Ukraine spends 60 percent of its budget on defence, financing the war mostly out of Western donations? Who is going to stop this? People are pinning their hopes on Donald Trump who has made promises to that effect. How realistic were they?

Clearly, no one is going to start negotiating on January 21st, even if Trump’s intentions to bring the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to an end are honest. There’s going to be a staff reshuffle, new appointments will have to get on board. That is a bureaucratic process that takes time. We can only talk about a start of negotiations, if they are going to be initiated and supported. But there are also other forces in play. Ukraine doesn’t want peace. Besides, you need a position to negotiate from, and the Ukrainian position now is extremely weak. Russia also has no incentive to negotiate: the frontlines may start crumbling soon.