Vladimir Putin's Goal Is to 'Destroy NATO': Zelensky

Russian President Vladimir Putin's ultimate goal is to "destroy" the NATO military alliance, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"He is an inadequate person that is a threat to the whole word," Zelensky said in an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier that was broadcast on Thursday. "He will destroy NATO, that's his goal."

The Ukrainian leader added that the war in Ukraine will come to an end once the "world will understand" the threat that Putin poses.

The Context

Tensions between Russia and the West have escalated since the war in Ukraine broke out in February 2022, with NATO standing firmly behind Kyiv's defense of Putin's invasion. Several Western leaders have warned that the military alliance should be prepared for a direct conflict with Russia in the coming years, predicting that the Kremlin would look toward taking its Baltic neighbors next.

NATO has taken steps to bolster its own defenses in recent months, including mobilizing nearly 90,000 troops to train near the Russian-Sweden border. Russia has warned against such moves, however, with Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling the operation to train troops "provocative in nature."

What We Know

Two years into the war, Kyiv's efforts to push Russia out of its territory have largely stalled, with Moscow still occupying almost a fifth of the country. Zelensky has previously vowed that fighting cannot be brought to an end until all land, including the Crimean Peninsula, is returned to Ukrainians, while Putin has said that negotiations can only be reached after Moscow achieves the "denazification" and "demilitarization" of Ukraine.

Speaking to Baier, Zelensky said that he did not find it "fair to ask Ukrainians when the war will finish," adding that his country was "doing everything possible for the war to end as soon as possible."

"When the world will be ready to stop Putin?" the Ukrainian leader posed instead.

Newsweek reached out to Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment on Thursday night.

The Views

NATO leaders remain steadfast in seeing Ukraine to the end of the war, including Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina, who told Newsweek on Wednesday that the military alliance "cannot fall into a trap of starting to believe that we have lost."

"What's the option then? Will you be joining Russia?" Silina added. "Definitely not. So, wake up, get up from the couch and start doing the best you can do for your country and for yourself."

Silina's comments come as additional aid for Ukraine has stalled in Congress, with Republican lawmakers pushing back on President Joe Biden's request for a new security package. Zelensky told Baier on Thursday that Kyiv was "thankful for everything being done by the United States," but warned that the "price we are asking now to support, this price is less than it will be in the future if we're falling down."

"We just want to live, to survive," Zelensky said. "We don't have an alternative. We just want to survive. I think congressmen are just people with their families, with their children, and I think they understand that we are just trying to save our houses with children ... So let's help us and let's support. Let's be in unity."