As long as the bastard Putin is alive, the West will support Ukraine under any circumstances
1 September 2025 17:06
OPINION
Oles Doniy, head of the Center for Research on Political Values, believes that the key factor in Western support for Ukraine is not democracy, but the desire to contain aggressive Russia. This, in his opinion, explains the West’s lenient attitude to the curtailment of democratic processes in Ukraine:
“As long as the bastard Putin is alive, the West will be ready to support Ukraine in any form, even if it is undemocratic. The main thing is that it resists and is not weakened.
Despite some signals from international partners about the need for elections, Doniy is convinced that the pressure from the West is limited and situational:
“I don’t expect serious support for democracy from the West, and I don’t expect serious criticism of Zelenskyy either. Yes, sometimes there are moderate statements to promote their own interests.
He recalled a brief period when U.S. leaders started talking about elections in Ukraine, but according to Donius, this quickly faded away after Washington achieved its goals.
Doniy talks about two key steps that, according to him, were imposed on Ukraine under US pressure:
In fact, they achieved two things. The first is the signing of a memorandum on mineral resources that is unfavorable for Ukraine. It is actually about the US access to Ukrainian subsoil. Second, they imposed a negotiation platform in Istanbul.
According to the politician, this platform not only failed to produce any results, but also legitimized the aggressor. Doniy believes that the Istanbul talks were a turning point, after which Putin was able to have direct diplomatic contact with Western leaders:
“In Istanbul, the fascist-Russian government was legitimized. After that, personal calls between Trump and Putin began, and later Macron joined in.
Oles Doniy points to a key paradox: despite its declared support for democratic values, the West continues to cooperate with the Ukrainian government, which, in his opinion, demonstrates authoritarian tendencies. The reason for this is a pragmatic fear of chaos and an unwillingness to allow Russia to grow stronger. However, Doniy warns that this logic could be costly for Ukraine itself.
Listen and watch more in Oles Doniy’s interview with "Komersant Ukrainian".
