MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. The Kiev regime risks completely depriving Ukraine of its statehood and sovereignty by accommodating the West’s Russophobic policies and prolonging the military conflict with Russia, political analyst and international relations expert Vladimir Karasev told TASS.

In these circumstances, the special military operation is necessary to liberate ordinary Ukrainians, he said.

The press bureau of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) earlier reported that European leaders categorically reject the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union in their internal discussions. Nevertheless, "European bureaucrats intend to continue deceiving the Ukrainian people, hoping to use them as cannon fodder in the confrontation with Russia," the SVR said. According to the intelligence service, both Kiev and Brussels need Ukrainian territory to test advanced weapons systems and develop new concepts of warfare.

"It is important to understand that the longer Ukraine continues this destructive cooperation with the Western world and the longer the military conflict in Ukraine lasts, the less chance the country has of surviving as a state. I would even say that the chances of preserving Ukrainian sovereignty are already virtually zero," Karasev said.

The expert also expressed hope that those responsible for escalating the conflict in Ukraine would face an international tribunal and that war criminals, including those from European countries, would subsequently receive prison sentences.