'Buckle up': 'Desperate' Putin will drag out Ukraine border crisis, ex-Russian minister claims
20 February 2022, 13:15
'Buckle up': Ex-Yeltsin minister says Putin won't invade Ukraine
Whilst the Kremlin will continue to aggravate the situation in Ukraine, a former Russian Foreign Minister tells LBC that a 'full-scale' invasion is not incoming.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Boris Johnson has warned that Europe is on the brink of witnessing war on a scale not seen since 1945 as Vladimir Putin piles troops on the Ukrainian border.
Read more: Russia is planning 'biggest war since 1945', warns Boris Johnson
Tom Swarbrick spoke to former Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev as the crisis reaches boiling point.
"How do you anticipate this ending?" He asked Boris Yeltsin's ex-foreign minister.
He began by telling LBC that he disagrees with president Biden and Boris Johnson that an invasion is imminent.
Read more: Ex-Ukrainian president: World is at 'the door of a Third World War'
Putin will invade further if he successfully occupies Ukraine
Read more: Minister defends Russia-linked donations to Tory party amid Ukraine crisis
"I don't think that the Kremlin, Putin will really go full-scale into Ukraine", he declared.
"They are threatening, they went too far, and they are desperate now because the West saw considerable resilience and did not bow to their outrageous attempts."
He said that while there won't be an invasion soon, it is by no means the end of the crisis: "There will be more threatening, creating situations like Donetsk and Donbas."
Mr Kozyrev concluded by telling the West to "buckle up and be strong", and to expect a long haul stand-off with Putin.
