Putin has no red lines - former Ukrainian foreign minister

RIGA - Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has no red lines and has decided to spend the rest of his life in war, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told LETA in an interview.

"It must be clearly understood in London and in all other capitals that if Putin sees an opportunity to attack a Western capital - and I am neither joking nor exaggerating - he will seize that opportunity. There are no "red lines" for him," the veteran politician stressed.

Kuleba believes that Putin's mission in life with regard to Ukraine is the destruction of statehood, while he wants to tear Europe apart - "to prove to himself and everyone else that a world of freedom, democracy and prosperity is a failed project, while what Russia is doing is the right path to the future".

Kuleba sees no way to stop the war in Ukraine as long as Putin remains in power.

"Nobody can say when the war will end. But I think Putin has decided to spend the rest of his life fighting. No matter where - in Ukraine or Syria or somewhere in Europe, if he dares," said the former Ukrainian foreign minister.

He believes that the nearest chance for a long and sustainable peace will be when Putin dies.

"There are no guarantees that this will happen. It is not worth speculating on who might replace him, but at least there will be a chance [of ending the war]," Kuleba said.

He noted that the intensity of the war will be a key issue, as it will be extremely difficult for Russia to sustain the current level of intensity.

"We will not be able to calm Putin down, but we can weaken the intensity of his war to a certain extent. Nobody knows how long it will take," the politician said.

Kuleba expressed concern that although there are people in the US and Europe who are fully aware of the threat and damage caused by Russian propaganda and the techniques used by Moscow, the societies of these countries basically underestimate the threat posed by Russia.

"This is not so much about Russian propaganda itself, it is about local politicians and organizations in Europe and the US adopting and using Russian propaganda and its methods. Technically it is not Russian propaganda at all, but something that has come from the depths of Russia," Kuleba said.

Suddenly, new political forces of different spectrums are springing up from nowhere, and if you "scratch the surface", you will see Russian propaganda features underneath, the politician said.

"If you did not listen to the Ukrainians and did not fight against Russian propaganda when you had to do so, then now you are seeing the fruits of this process in your own society. If these societies do not understand that they have to fight fiercely against these techniques, then they will be destroyed," Kuleba warned.

In the interview, the former Ukrainian Foreign Minister expressed his gratitude to Latvia "for everything you have done and will do for us" and congratulated Latvians on the upcoming Independence Day.

"Today I walked around Riga for two hours. I stood in front of the Freedom Monument and thought how great a miracle it is that this monument survived the Soviet times. It is further proof that sometimes history is not only shaped by action and political calculation, but also by miracles. You are a testimony to that. Part of the miracle is that Ukraine survived this invasion, and the same miracle will happen when Ukraine is victorious," Kuleba told LETA in the interview.