Ukrainian Foreign Minister gives White House hints for strategy regarding Ukraine

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has spoken about the key ideas of the strategy that he would advise the United States to apply in the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war and support for Ukraine.

The host recalled that Congress, while adopting a package of legislation on further support for Ukraine and other US partners, put forward a demand for the Biden administration in the next month and a half to provide Congress with a strategy for further support for Ukraine. The host asked what Kuleba would advise the White House to add to this strategy if he were an adviser. 

"First, be ambitious if you lower your expectations and your ambition. If you start with what is usually called plan B, you will end up with plan B. So, you have to start with Plan A," Kuleba said in an interview with Foreign Policy. 

Secondly, he suggested that the White House not consider Ukraine through the prism of American relations with Russia. 

"Iʼm aware that in some offices, there are still thinkers, there are still ideas that whatever the outcome of this war will be, we will have to maintain relations with Russia and therefore we have to avoid burning all the bridges with them. But you will not have any proper relations with Russia under President Putin because he made his choice, and this choice is war. And if someone thinks that he is ramping up his defence industrial base only to fight against Ukraine, he is completely wrong. So, consider Russia under Putin as an enemy," Kuleba said.

Thirdly, he advised the United States to develop strategies "to look for problems on your side, and not on the side of Ukraine."

"Ask yourself a question: What are we doing wrong that we cannot help our ally prevail?". Putting all the responsibility on the shoulders of Ukraine means waving yourself of responsibility. But every Russian missile that hits Ukrainian energy facility and deprives Ukrainians of electricity – that kills civilians. It does that because someone didn't supply an air defence system or interceptor to help Ukraine avoid that. This calculation should be present in all strategic calculations," the Ukrainian foreign minister said.

He also explained why Ukraine sees no point in inviting Russia to the Peace Summit in Switzerland.