Oleksandr Paliy: Putin has not renounced invasion in Ukraine

Coming from Putin’s rhetoric, he is preparing an invasion and occupation of Ukraine.

The opinion comes from a Ukrainian political scientist Oleksandr Paliy’s comment for Gordonua.com.

“The West would like a peaceful solution to Russia-Ukraine standoff and, of course, if there is a possibility to reach a certain agreement with Russia, it should be used. But the behavior of our neighbors does not corroborate the readiness for a compromise: the events in Donetsk and Luhansk regions do not look like simple intimidation”, - the expert said.

Paliy believes that on certain issues a dialogue with Russia is still possible. “Russia’s demands concern the domestic situation in Ukraine – holding a referendum and a guarantee of increased powers of local administrations. In particular, a compromise is quite achievable in terms of decentralization”, - the political scientist said.

However, in the expert’s opinion, “the better we are prepared for a war, the less is the possibility that it will start”. “The main task for us is to reinforce Ukraine’s army and providing the Western states with evidence that Putin and Russia only understand tough guarantees. I think that it is time for the EU and USA to provide Ukraine with military assistance”, - Oleksandr Paliy concluded.