MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. European proposals for security guarantees concerning Ukraine appear primarily aimed at legitimizing the presence of foreign troops in the country and further arming Kiev, while seemingly ignoring Moscow’s interests, Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries and an expert with the Other Ukraine movement, has told TASS.

Following consultations in Berlin, European leaders emphasized their insistence on maintaining a Ukrainian armed force of at least 800,000 troops during peacetime and pledged readiness to assist Kiev in upholding this military strength. Dudchak interprets this as an intention to rearm Ukraine during peacetime, preserve existing military structures - including those characterized as anti-Russian, Russophobic, and neo-Nazi - and ensure the army remains robust at 800,000 personnel.

"They aim to establish a multinational force in Ukraine under European leadership," the expert further noted. "This is extraordinary - they seek to legitimize the presence of foreign troops on Ukrainian soil. These will be multinational forces supported by the United States, with potential for operations within Ukrainian territory."

Dudchak explained that such plans effectively transform the entire territory of former Ukraine into a strategic military base under external control. "There is a real possibility of deploying missile systems aimed at Moscow and strategic nuclear launch sites. This forms part of their broader strategy to guarantee Ukraine’s security," he said. He also pointed out that the ceasefire monitoring mechanism is being overseen under US leadership with international participation.

Previous monitoring efforts involving the OSCE have demonstrated that these arrangements tend to favor the Ukrainian armed forces. Dudchak observed, "Now, the West is also positioning itself to monitor and assess Russia’s actions."

He warned that once Ukraine’s military capabilities are significantly enhanced, Western powers might craft scenarios to justify an attack, possibly by staging an incident that appears to originate from Russia. "By 2030, they will have devised ways to organize and simulate an attack from Russia," he predicted.

Russia maintains that security guarantees should be provided collectively and in a manner that respects its fundamental interests. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has previously stated, the issue of security guarantees related to Ukraine should be resolved "by consensus, taking into account Russia’s key interests."