Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky predicted in a Sunday interview with NBC News that Russian President Vladimir Putin will launch an “invasion” of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries and has been waiting for the “weakening” of the military alliance as the United States signals a lack of support.
Zelensky also noted that if the U.S. withdraws from NATO, Russia will “occupy” Europe.
Newsweek has reached out to Russia’s foreign ministry for comment via email and filed out an online contact form for NATO’s press team on Sunday.
Why It Matters
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has signaled a major change in the U.S. position on Ukraine, a close ally that receives substantial American aid, amid its ongoing war with Russia.
The administration has suggested that NATO membership for Ukraine is not probable and has emphasized prioritizing U.S. security and border protection over NATO commitments and willingness to defend Europe.
Concerns of Russia expanding the war beyond Ukraine’s borders has been a local and international concern since Moscow’s invasion of the Eastern European country in February 2022.
What To Know
Zelensky sat down with NBC News’ Meet the Press host Kristen Welker and talked about the current state of the Russia-Ukraine war, warning of the possibility that Putin could expand it to other NATO countries.
Ukraine has repeatedly expressed interest in NATO membership but has not been confirmed as a full member. Recently, the Trump administration said it is unlikely the country will join the military bloc.
Zelensky told Welker in Ukrainian, “We know for sure that he is preparing steps on the territory of Belarus this year. It can happen in summer, maybe in the beginning, maybe in the end of summer. I don’t know when he prepares it, but it will happen.”
He continued: “There are risks that this can be Poland and Lithuania because we believe that Putin will wage war against NATO.”
Lithuania and Poland are NATO countries that border Russian ally Belarus.
NATO’s Article 5 assures that if a NATO ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the ally attacked.
Zelensky said Putin is waiting for a “weakening of NATO by for instance, policy of the United States of America.”
“I will believe that the United States will not take its forces, its contingents from Europe, because that will severely weaken NATO on the European continent. Putin definitely counts on that,” the Ukrainian president added.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday where he said that “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.” He also said that “there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.”
Zelensky announced that Ukraine has received information that leads them to believe there could be an “invasion against former Soviet Republics and forgive me but today these are NATO countries.”
Welker then asked, “You have actual intelligence that President Putin is planning to attack NATO countries?”
The Ukrainian president responded in English, “No, we have intelligence, we have documents that they are preparing trained mission of a big number of soldiers on the territory of Belarus. We are just sharing that there is a high risk that he can do the same, maybe not, god bless not, and maybe before it, President Trump and the allies will stop him.”
He also said that if the U.S. pulls out of NATO “the risk that Russia will occupy Europe, is 100 percent.” During his first term and on the campaign trail, Trump suggested the U.S. might withdraw from NATO if allies did not increase their defense spending.
AP Photo/Matthias Schrader
What People Are Saying
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state-controlled TV on Thursday, per Reuters: “One way or another, of course, Ukraine will participate in the negotiations,” adding, “There will be a bilateral Russian-American track of this dialogue, and a track that will be related to Ukraine’s involvement.”
Retired U.S. Army General Jack Keane told Fox News on Saturday about Putin: “Listen, everything is on the line for him. He has a strategic failure here. He thought it was going to take place in 2 to 3 weeks, that people would capitulate, it did not happen. And here we are going into our third year. The reality is his presidency is at stake. And I think also his personal life is at stake if all of this blows up on him. So, where is he coming from? He’ll wait out President Trump, I suspect, and attack.”
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this week following his phone call with Putin: “As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine…We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.”
What Happens Next?
Trump has spoken with Putin and Zelensky since taking office about ending the war between the two countries. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reportedly slated to speak with top Russian officials in Saudi Arabia to commence Ukraine peace talks, according to several outlets.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called an emergency meeting for European leaders to discuss Ukraine and the U.S.’s role, in a meeting likely to be held on Monday, according to The Guardian.
