One of Vladimir Putin's closest people has revealed to The Sun what is the only way the war in Ukraine will end. According to him, the war cannot be resolved at the front, but only with the overthrow of Putin's regime.
Russian economist Andrey Ilarionov was an adviser to Putin from 2000 to 2005 and was considered one of his most trusted allies. After leaving his post, however, he became a critic of the regime in the Kremlin and has been living in the United States ever since. There is hardly any other person who knows the Russian president better than Ilarionov.
The economic expert said in his previous interviews that the war between Russia and Ukraine actually began in 2003 with the incident on the island of Tuzla* in the Kerch Strait. Even then, Putin had ambitions that one day Ukraine would capitulate and become Russian territory.
In front of The Sun, Ilarionov said that the 71-year-old Putin, from the very first moments of his rule, has set his sights on Ukraine and will never give up his imperialistic ambition. “He is determined to achieve his goals”, Ilarionov said.
The former Kremlin adviser pointed out that if Putin sets a certain goal, he is very serious in his intention to achieve it. “He is very serious in thinking and preparing to achieve his goals. He draws not one, not two, but dozens of scenarios in his head. And if he really decides to do something, he won't forget it," Ilarionov shared. “He will try two, three times until it is achieved. "There are not many cases in which he deviated from his intentions," he added.
Andrei Ilarionov believes that the war in Ukraine can be stopped in only one way – if the Western countries form an alliance with the aim of overthrowing the Putin regime.
„Until now, no one has set this goal. Not the President of the USA, not any of the European leaders, not even the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky with his so-called peace formula. He did not create a winning formula. The only way to have medium-term security for Eastern Europe and Europe is simply to topple Putin's regime, Ilarionov said.
Putin's former adviser reveals that in the first years of his administration he was very positive towards Western countries, but everything changed with the Iraq war in 2003. The Americans invaded on the orders of George Bush Jr. – despite Putin's arguments against it – which turns out to be a turning point in the position of the Russian president vis-à-vis the US and other NATO countries. In the end, Putin's arguments against the Iraq war proved to be correct. “We should not ignore the fact that Putin is quite smart,”, Ilarionov said.
Illarionov openly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called Russian policy a “catastrophe”. But the former adviser believes the war with Putin can be won. “It is my firm belief that the war in Ukraine can be won and victory can be achieved only if not only Ukraine but also Ukraine's friends take part in the battle,”, he said.
„The concept that Ukraine can defend itself, not even defeat, but defend itself is completely wrong. Ukraine cannot do it alone. Only the joint efforts of democracy-loving countries can protect Ukraine, stop the aggressor and bring victory,” said the former advisor to Putin.
*In 2003, the Russian Federation first attempted to occupy and illegally annex the territory of independent Ukraine and revealed to Ukrainians and the world its aggressive plans regarding the Crimean Peninsula. This act of hybrid Russian aggression against Ukraine focuses on the small but strategically important island of Tuzla. Without any warning, Russia began building a road to Tuzla to connect it to the Russian coast. The conflict over the island was used by the Russian leadership to officially challenge Ukraine's claims, as well as to see what the international reaction would be to this invasion of foreign territory.