A Ukrainian lawmaker has lambasted the Ukrainian government’s policy toward escalating the conflict with Russia as a road to the country’s collapse.
"Our national interest cannot rest on a direct opposition to the interests of Russia and Belarus. For Ukraine, as their neighbor, such a policy means the continuation of confrontation and war, and, hence, death," Artyom Dmitruk, a member of Ukraine’s Verkhovha Rada, or parliament, wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to the lawmaker, Ukraine’s key national priority today should be diplomacy and peace. "But there is a fundamental issue here. Empty talk, statements for the sake of making statements, and non-stop blowing hot air are neither diplomacy nor a struggle for peace. Concrete actions are needed. Actions by those who hold authority today. By current politicians. By the Verkhovna Rada," TASS quoted Dmitruk as saying.
"Today, Ukraine is pursuing everyone else’s national interests - those of Great Britain, the United States, the European Union - everyone's but its own!" Dmitruk noted, adding that the country’s national interest and priority in foreign policy should be good neighborly relations with Minsk and Moscow, and saving the lives of Ukrainians should be its top priority domestically.
He noted that the country faces daily challenges posed by ruined infrastructure, power and heating outages, as well as economic and social consequences millions of people will be suffering from for years to come. "Therefore, war, by its very nature, cannot be in Ukraine’s national interest. War may be the primary interest of private military companies, but not of the state," he added.
