West made fatal mistake regarding Russia — diplomat Ohryzko

He expressed this opinion on the air of Espreso TV.

"In the early 1990s, the West really believed that Russia would one day be able to join the democratic part of humanity. This was a fatal mistake that lasted until February 24, 2022. Only after that did this myth begin to fade from the heads of Western leaders. Unfortunately, this fading is happening very slowly. 

However, the process is still ongoing. It seems to me that everything that happened in 2024 contributed to this process of fading away of erroneous views about Russia going much faster. It has not always been successful. Not everyone wants to understand this, not everyone is economically successful, not all countries are independent of Moscow, etc.," explained Ogryzko.

According to the diplomat, there are partners of Ukraine who, due to their own prejudices, do not provide Kyiv with the assistance that would force the Russian Federation to retreat and not unleash attacks on the civilian population.

"Today, there are too many factors that influence the position of certain countries towards Russia. Therefore, unfortunately, we did not have a quick result and, accordingly, a victory. It is often very difficult to break through the wall of prejudices. This is a titanic work that consists of many factors. And I do not know whether we could have a quick result in this war. 

For example, take Germany, which provides Ukraine with simply colossal assistance. However, can Berlin really not overcome some prejudices and their own fears and provide Ukraine with the weapons that will allow it to destroy military targets on the territory of the Russian Federation, which are threatening us. And this is just one example," he added.

• On December 22, it was reported that the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would wait for a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to resolve the war in Ukraine.
• On December 22, Trump reached out to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy with an offer to consider the possibility of holding peace talks with Russia and abandoning the occupied territories.