Zelensky: The loss of Ukraine may force the United States to choose between “the collapse of NATO” or war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Russia’s loss could eventually force the United States to choose between “the collapse of NATO” or going to war.

“If Ukraine loses, if Russia occupies Ukraine, Russia will continue to go towards the Baltic states, Poland, and so on,” Zelensky said in a statement. Interview with NBC News. And they will start a war with one of the NATO countries, and at this moment, the United States will have to choose the collapse of NATO or go to war.

The Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are all members of NATO, as is Poland. An attack on any member of the alliance is considered an “attack against them all” under the treaty organization’s collective defense principle.

Zelensky brought up the possibility of NATO participation in response to the suggestion by some Republican politicians that the United States needs to reduce its spending on the war in Ukraine.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – a 2024 Republican presidential candidate – has previously described the war as a “territorial conflict,” while arguing that the United States should not become “more involved” in the conflict. And House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) warned last fall that the House Republican majority would not write a “blank check” to Ukraine for aid.

“Does any candidate or senator think that it costs a lot of money for the United States to support Ukraine, is he ready to go to war and fight and send his children,” Zelensky said Thursday, adding: “Because in any case, they would have to do it if NATO intervened.”

He said, “It’s not Ukraine against Russia.” “Russia is fighting the civilized world.”

The United States and its allies continued to supply increasingly advanced weaponry to Kiev, as the war against Russia dragged on for more than a year. Last month, President Biden reversed course on his refusal to discuss the F-16 fighter jets, saying the United States would support an international coalition to train Ukrainian pilots for the jets.

Zelensky, who has long sought fighter jets, said in an interview Thursday that the drawn-out process of acquiring such advanced military hardware had “prolonged the war.”

“If we are provided with the machines that our partners currently hold, we will win faster,” he added.

However, he seemed confident that his country’s latest counter-offensive, which had finally begun after months of speculation, might eventually lead to Russia losing out if it succeeded.

“Our heroic people, our soldiers who are now on the front lines, are facing very, very tough resistance,” he told NBC News. “And you understand why. Because Russia losing this campaign for Ukraine, I would say, actually means losing the war.”