MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/. The situation in Ukraine may prompt millions of its citizens to seek a home in other countries, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview to weekly Argumenty i Fakty.
"By essentially establishing a protectorate in Ukraine, the West crippled the country’s economy, took away people’s civil rights, and sent some strata of the population into poverty,’’ Patrushev said. ‘’At any moment, there’s potential in Ukraine for an outburst of tensions so strong that millions of Ukrainians will flee to seek refuge in other places.’’
"Having sown chaos and destruction in the Middle East and North Africa, the West is now surprised that people from these countries are moving en masse to other regions,’’ he went on to say. In criticizing Belarus and Russia for the migration crisis at Poland’s border, the European governments have ‘’the cause and effect mixed up,’’ Patrushev said.
The situation at the Belarusian-Polish border is a result of outside pressure on Minsk, the top security official said.
"They didn’t succeed in destroying the country’s leadership and sinking the country into chaos and protest rallies,’’ he explained. ‘’So they are now trying to inundate the country with migrants and undermine the social security and health care systems.