The author, a Russian lawmaker, writes:

• "Having assumed [in 2014] the actual responsibility for the Donbas, we could not either establish a normal life there under bullets and shells or achieve success in an unspoken but obvious competition — where is it better to live: in the Donbas or in the rest of Ukraine, which was being reassured by the West?"  
• "I will not hide the fact that until the last moment I and many others had hope that it would be possible to do without a military operation, that we would still be able to influence Ukraine from within. ... The West also turned out to be a weak point in our reasoning: the war 'to the last Ukrainian' turned out to be more important to it than the losses. So war with Ukraine and the West behind it became inevitable."  
• "After February 24... we have no other choice other than to win. Without victory, attempts at negotiation will not lead to agreements. And uncertainty will entail much worse consequences for us as a people and a state."  
• "For a long period of time we will be talking about the existence of two Ukraines." 
• "It is necessary to achieve the maximum possible, the boundaries of which will be determined on the map of Ukraine by the balance of forces and the ability to continue the struggle." 

This item is part of Russia Matters’ “Clues from Russian Views” series, in which we share what newsmakers in/from Russia are saying on Russia-related issues that impact key U.S. national interests so that RM readers can glean clues about their thinking.

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