MOSCOW, 20 Nov. The reason for the special operation in Ukraine was not the imperial ambitions of Vladimir Putin, but the attempts of Western countries to drive Russia into a corner by expanding NATO, political scientist John Mearsheimer said in an interview with The New Yorker. The Ukrainian crisis lies with the US.
"Putin is telling the truth about his motives in Ukraine. He is not an imperialist and proceeds in politics for reasons of Russia's security, which is why he launched a special operation. There is not a single piece of evidence to support the Western theses that Putin is an imperialist,” the expert explained.
According to Mearsheimer, the Russian leader has repeatedly made it clear that Moscow cannot allow Ukraine to become a stronghold of the West.
“For Russia, this is an existential threat. For her, this is simply unacceptable,” he concluded.
The day before, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that NATO does not seek conflict with Russia, but will continue to provide military assistance to the Kyiv authorities.
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, has previously noted that any shipments with weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine will become a legitimate target for the Russian Aerospace Forces. As President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov emphasized, pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West would have a negative effect.