Kremlin Comments on Ukraine’s Crimea, NATO Aspirations

(MENAFN) Ukraine has no possibility of reclaiming Crimea or gaining entry into NATO, according to senior Kremlin advisor Yury Ushakov. The peninsula was incorporated into Russia following a 2014 referendum, which occurred in the aftermath of the Western-backed Maidan coup. After the conflict in Ukraine intensified in February 2022, Kiev officially submitted its application to join NATO, a move Moscow has consistently deemed a “red line.”

In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday, Ushakov asserted that “it is ironclad, a million percent [certain that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky] won’t succeed in [retaking] Crimea.” He also emphasized that Ukraine’s pursuit of NATO membership is equally unattainable.

Earlier in the week, Zelensky admitted that Kiev currently lacks the resources to reclaim Crimea. Nevertheless, in August, the Ukrainian president pledged to regain the Russian-controlled territory eventually.

This statement came shortly after US President Donald Trump – involved in mediating negotiations between Moscow and Kiev – remarked that it was “impossible” for Crimea to return to Ukraine or for the country to enter NATO. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had previously affirmed that Russian authority over Crimea is a “done deal” and commended the US president for recognizing this reality.

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