The political leadership of Ukraine should restore relations with Russia, abandoning the course towards integration with the West. This opinion was expressed in an interview with The New York Times by Ukrainian businessman Igor Kolomoisky. According to him, they should understand in Kiev that the country will never be admitted to the EU and NATO, therefore, "there is no point in wasting time on empty talk," while Russia will gladly include Ukraine in the "new Warsaw Pact" (the military union of socialist states headed by with the USSR in 1955-1991. - RT ).

“They (Russia) are in any case stronger (Ukraine. - RT ). We need to improve our relationship. People want peace, a good life, they do not want to fight. And you, America, make us fight and don’t even pay us for it, ”Kolomoisky said.

He emphasized that he does not have warm feelings towards Russia, but the West failed Kiev without providing sufficient financial assistance without opening markets. At the same time, the United States, according to him, simply uses the country in the war “until the last Ukrainian” to weaken its geopolitical rival - the Russian Federation.

“The restoration of ties with Russia is necessary for the economic survival of Ukraine ... It will take five to ten years, and they will forget about blood. I objectively describe what I see and where everything is moving, ”stated the businessman.

In his opinion, Moscow is supposedly happy to agree to take on the functions that the International Monetary Fund is currently performing in relation to Kiev, and will provide Ukraine with a loan of $ 100 billion. Money is the fastest way to resolve problems and restore cooperation, he added.

  • President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky (center) and Igor Kolomoisky
  • © Press Service of the President of Ukraine

Kolomoisky also touched on the investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of former US Vice President Joe Biden. According to him, if he were the president of Ukraine, he would have given the course to the investigation, to which the head of the White House Donald Trump paid attention. At the same time, the Ukrainian businessman emphasized that he was not afraid of a response from the Democratic Party if its representative became the president of the United States after the 2020 elections.

“If they start acting impudently towards us, we will go over to the side of Russia. Russian tanks will be deployed at Krakow and Warsaw. Your NATO will be made into pants and bought with diapers, ”the oligarch said.

In conclusion, Kolomoisky rejected media assumptions about what has an impact on the office of President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky.

“If I look at myself through the same prism as the rest of the world, I see a monster, a manipulator, the owner of Zelensky and someone who is building apocalyptic plans. I can make it a reality, ”he pointed out.

In May, in an interview with the Financial Times, the Ukrainian oligarch expressed a similar point of view, saying that the United States and the European Union are not interested in the development of Ukraine, but only use it as a tool to “damage Russia”.

Recall that the Investigative Committee of Russia in 2014 accused Igor Kolomoisky of organizing a number of crimes: murders, using prohibited means and methods of warfare, hindering the professional activities of journalists, kidnapping people. He was put on the international wanted list through Interpol. The name of the businessman was also repeatedly mentioned among those who sponsored nationalists from the "Right Sector" * and various volunteer battalions involved in the Donbass conflict.

In addition, his holding “1 + 1 Media” in 2014 launched its own television channel - Ukraine Today - which was supposed to “become the voice of Ukraine in the international community.” However, two years later this project stopped broadcasting.

"Calculation of dividends"

Igor Shatrov, deputy director of the National Institute for the Development of Modern Ideology, said he was not surprised by Igor Kolomoisky’s negative statements about the West.

“Kolomoisky seems to be reaching out to Russia. The calculation is to have more dividends than other Ukrainian businessmen, because at the moment of them he is the closest to the current government in Ukraine. A huge number of his people are embedded in the existing structure. Therefore, he expects that if relations are restored, he will earn on his capabilities and connections. This is a very tricky, but traditional for Ukrainian oligarchs policy, ”the source said.

In turn, the political scientist Yuriy Svetov was skeptical of the statements of the Ukrainian oligarch, since so far there is no need to talk about the actual signs of the restoration of relations between Russia and Ukraine.

“Behind this may be the sobriety of a businessman who understands that we are neighbors, and relations need to be restored, including to solve their own business issues. The fact that we need to restore ties with Russia, over the past week, we hear from the Minister, then from the Deputy Prime Minister. But the words “it is necessary to restore ties” immediately follow some conditions. Let's look at the further development of the situation, ”the expert explained in an interview with RT.

* "Right Sector" - the Ukrainian association of radical nationalist organizations, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia (decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 11/17/2014).