Ukraine’s accession to EU and NATO will prevent a large-scale war in Europe – Melnyk

Ukraine's accession to NATO and the European Union will put an end to Putin's artificial conflict with Ukraine and avoid a new large-scale war in Europe.

The Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany, Andrii Melnyk, stated this in an interview with the main German magazine in security policy ".loyal," Ukrinform reports.

"Because only this way (thanks to Ukraine's accession to NATO and the EU – ed.), we can put an end to Putin's artificial conflict with Ukraine and still avoid a new large-scale war in Europe. Only accepting Ukraine, which will certainly contribute significantly to common security, NATO's protection could deter Russia from new military invasions," Melnyk said in an interview published on the embassy's website.

The Ukrainian ambassador pointed out that the best examples of NATO's stabilizing and peacekeeping role were the accession of the Baltic States and Poland.

"Moscow will only dare to launch a new armed attack when it's confident that it can control the initiated conflict. As long as Ukraine is not a member of the Alliance, as long as there's this dangerous vacuum of power, we'll continue to fall victim to Russian expansionism with dangerous consequences for the entire continent. It's unlikely that such a scenario will meet the interests of both Germany and the United States," he said.

The diplomat also noted that currently, German partners didn't share this vision of Ukraine, "because they're afraid that in this way, they will provoke Putin." However, this dilemma is "far-fetched": "Ukraine's entry, which is an integral part of the Western community of values, both politically and culturally, in NATO and the European Union is in the interests of Germany."

Melnyk expressed his belief that if Ukraine joined NATO soon, "it would definitely be an important contribution to the security of the whole of Europe." "It would also be a clear signal to Moscow that Putin would finally realize that he's not allowed to do everything, and then his criminal strategy of separating Ukraine from the rest of Europe and trampling it with the boots of Russian soldiers would finally fail," he said.