"Ukraine will cease to exist in 2025": Kyiv's response to Patrushev's statements.

The change in leadership in the United States could significantly alter the global agenda. It is possible that Ukraine may "cease to exist" by 2025, stated Nikolai Patrushev, an aide to the President of Russia, in an interview with "Komsomolskaya Pravda."

"It is not excluded that in the coming year, Ukraine will completely cease to exist," he believes.

According to Patrushev, Ukraine will not be a priority for the new administration of Donald Trump, as he is more concerned about China. Russia, under no circumstances, will concede the Ukrainian territories it occupies.

In his view, Russian policy towards Ukraine will remain unchanged, and the objectives of the so-called "special operation" will be fulfilled. Negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, he asserts, should be conducted solely between Russia and the United States, without the involvement of other Western countries.

"There is nothing to discuss with London or Brussels. The EU leadership has long lost the right to speak on behalf of many of its members, such as Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Romania, and some other European nations, who are interested in stability in Europe and maintain a balanced position regarding Russia," he concluded.

Patrushev's Statements on Ukraine's Future: Kyiv's Reaction

As of the publication of this news, senior Ukrainian officials had not commented on Patrushev's remarks. The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andriy Kovalenko, labeled the Russian president's aide as a "generator of random statements."

"He has failed at everything he could fail. He advised Putin on the 'Nutcracker' scare tactic, which ultimately backfired and gave the Russians no leverage against the West… A typical, crazy old man, far removed from reality. Patrushev fears the truth that in the next 50 years, the chances of a controlled division of Russia into national entities are very high, and the number of those interested in this will only increase," he believes.

Kovalenko notes that currently, the prospect of Russia's division is obscured by the shadow of "regime stability," but in the next 10 years, if Russia enters into direct conflict with NATO, everything will become apparent.

"Patrushev's chances of witnessing an independent Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Komi, or Sakha with his own eyes are quite slim. His age is not on his side. That’s why he writes nonsense about Ukraine," he concluded.

It is worth recalling that Russia had previously declared its readiness to end the full-scale war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized the need to eliminate the root causes of threats on the western flank.

According to Bloomberg, Donald Trump abandoned the idea to end the war in Ukraine within a day. The West hopes for an enhancement of Kyiv's position ahead of potential negotiations with Moscow.