Oleksiy Arestovich, adviser to the President of Ukraine, back in 2019 spoke about a possible large-scale military operation against Ukraine. In one of the interviews, an adviser to the President of Ukraine was asked if, in his opinion, Russia could dare to directly confront NATO, Arestovich replied that the country's plan was different. Russia wanted to ruin the territory of Ukraine before its entry into NATO. According to Arestovich, such actions will make Ukraine an unattractive country for the North Atlantic Alliance.
In a 2019 interview, Arestovich bluntly said that a war with Russia is almost certainly the price of Ukraine joining NATO, but if Ukraine does not join NATO, it will be absorbed by Russia within 10-12 years. When asked what to choose then, the adviser to the President of Ukraine replied that the best of the two possible solutions is a war with Russia and joining NATO after defeating it. When asked what this war would look like, Arestovich mentioned, in particular, an offensive air operation, the invasion of troops created on the border, the formation of new people's republics, the siege of Kyiv and sabotage of critical infrastructure. When asked when this will happen, the adviser to the President of Ukraine called 2020-2022 the most critical period.
