2022-08-12T17:51:00+03:00 Politics 2024-09-15T06:52:57+03:00

Ukrainian news

Arestovych Gives New Forecast When War Will End

Arestovych Gives New Forecast When War Will End

The adviser to the head of the President's Office Oleksii Arestovych in an interview with Dmytro Hordon changed his famous forecast about when the war would end (at the beginning of the war, he spoke of "two or three weeks" - a phrase that became a meme). Now Arestovych believes the war could continue until next summer.

"This can be quite a long story - until next summer, if we are talking about the complete liberation of Ukrainian territory. I see this story for months, until at least the New Year, until the trend in war breaks, and we start to "beat" them. But when we will start "beating" them, it's still a question, for how long we will be beating them, and what they will do for it. Whether there will be one hundred thousand Korean volunteers (I joke, of course, but nevertheless). The central question is how the military-political leadership of the Russian Federation will behave when they apparently and understandably even for Russians begin to lose," said Arestovych.

He added that the worst-case scenario he sees is "hustle and bustle by next summer."

He also clarified that Russia seeks to return Ukraine to the negotiation process.

"They really want talks. They are doing everything to get us out there. They want neutral status - we do not join NATO, they want Crimea and Donbas, they are ready to give Kherson. And they really want to lift sanctions. These are the three things that they really need," Arestovych said, adding that the President of Ukraine will never do this and aims to return Ukraine's borders of 1991.

At the same time, he stipulated that the Ukrainian authorities were considering the following option: by military means, Ukraine could reach the border as of February 24, and then resolve the issue by negotiations. The task is the complete liberation of the territory of Ukraine.

Arestovych also made it clear that Ukraine could liberate Kherson within the next two months, and that a counteroffensive by the Ukrainian army could take place in the fall.

"In a month - I won't say in two - there is already a chance. Because there are certain rhythms. And we have to see what they will do - those troops that were transferred there. Up to 20 BTGs stand on the left bank of Kherson region. They can go either to Zaporizhzhia or to Kherson," he said.

"Will we take Kherson?" Hordon asked.

"Sooner or later we will take everything," Arestovych replied.