Many Western countries believed for a long time that they would be able to "keep Russia under control." If they believed in Ukraine more, the Kremlin might not have unleashed a full-scale war.
This opinion was voiced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, in an interview with OBOZREVATEL editor-in-chief Orest Sohar.
The head of the foreign policy department noted that our country's partners "are also going their own way", because whole generations of politicians grew up in them in a certain coordinate system.
"And one day, you have to admit: everything you think about Russia is a mistake. They didn't believe us. If the world had listened to Ukraine more since 2014 - I'm not saying completely, just listened to Ukraine more - there wouldn't have been a war." Everyone thought they were very smart and were convinced that they would definitely be able to keep Russia under control," Kuleba said.
The minister continued: some critics speak of aid to Ukrainians from the West as "charity".
"But this is not charity. This is, firstly, an investment in their own safety, the safety of those who give us these weapons. Second, this is, sorry, payment for our mistakes. If you have brought us to a situation where we are every day are dying in the conditions of Russian aggression, then your supplies of weapons, energy equipment, and financial support are your compensation for these mistakes, because of which we found ourselves in this situation," the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes.
However, he emphasized: there is no point in digging into the past now. It is necessary to unite around one goal - victory in this war.
Germany's position, for example, remains partly a "matter of reflexes". "This is a mixture of the phantom pain of the past and an attempt to send signals to those parts of their societies that still maintain some kind of special attitude towards Russia and believe that this is all a "temporary mistake". They, the politicians, also have to play with different parts of their electorate, but these are not critical things for us," Kuleba said.
Kuleba also stated that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, some in the West were afraid to transfer weapons to Ukraine - the reason for this can be called, in particular, the personal hesitations and fears of politicians. However, gradually the allies' beliefs changed, and some positions turned 180°.
