Russia may open second front in Europe before Ukraine war ends – Zelensky

He said this in an interview with The Guardian, published on Sunday, Ukrinform reports.

“I believe so. He can do that. We must forget about the general European scepticism that Putin first wants to occupy Ukraine and then may go somewhere else. He can do both at the same time,” Zelensky said.

The President noted that the Kremlin is waging a “hybrid war against Europe” and is testing NATO’s red lines.

He linked the rise in malign a activity across Europe — in particular, the intrusion of decoy drones over Poland and later the appearance of drones over airports in Copenhagen, Munich, and Brussels — to Russia’s failure to make significant progress on the battlefield.

“Putin is in a dead-end situation in terms of real success. It’s more like a stalemate for him. That’s why these failures could lead him to look for other territories. It’s very difficult for us but we are at home and defending ourselves,” Zelensky emphasized.

The President described Russia as a large and aggressive state that needs an external enemy to maintain internal unity. According to him, Putin considers the United States and the West to be his adversaries.

“Befriending Russia is not a solution for America. In terms of values, Ukraine is much closer to the U.S. than Russia,” Zelensky noted.

He said that on the Pokrovsk front Russia has deployed 170,000 troops, and the fighting in Donetsk region has become the fiercest. “That’s the whole story. There is no (Russian – ed.) success there. And many casualties,” Zelensky said, adding that in October Russian losses were record-high, reaching 25,000 killed and wounded.

As reported by Ukrinform, Ukraine and its partners in the European Union are preparing the 20th sanctions package and are proposing to add Russian companies and individuals who continue to profit from energy resources.