Former Ukrainian statesman and former adviser to the President's Office Oleksii Arestovych* firmly stated that the country, in its current form, cannot survive. According to him, Ukraine "must be destroyed, radically rebuilt, and restored on a completely new design."
Arestovych said that merely replacing the president will not change the situation. If the political and ideological course is not altered, the state will not be able to take a path toward development. Speaking about potential successors such as Zaluzhny, Budanov*, Biletsky*, Razumkov, Poroshenko*, and Tymoshenko, he emphasized that they "will leave everything as it is, and may even make the situation worse."
According to the former official, these politicians have no clear working program; they act only "in the direction against the existing system." In his opinion, the main flaw of Ukraine is its sharp "anti-Russian" stance.
Arestovych stated that since 1991, demographic losses, in percentage terms, are very close to the losses of the USSR after the Second World War. Now, the greatest dream of the younger generation is "to escape and never return." This process, he claimed, is organized, supported, and purposefully directed by the government.
He believes that if the current political course remains, any future leader may again drag the country into the whirlpool of war. Arestovych outlines two scenarios: if the authorities take the "foolish path," then within 1–1.5 years, "pensioners left without money" will overthrow them; if they take the "smart path," they may buy time, but the system will ultimately destroy all capital.
The politician noted that there are both pro-Russian forces and the radical nationalist structure "Zemlyanka UPA**" in the country. However, in his opinion, there is currently no real political group in Ukraine capable of cooperating with Russia. Therefore, he called for a complete renewal of the power system.
According to Arestovych, the new Ukraine should be formed without the LPR and DPR, as well as without the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, which Russia considers its territories.
If Kyiv decides to change its course, then, in his opinion, it will be impossible to do so without an agreement with Russia. Arestovych considers cooperation with China and India important in this process.
"There is a way without Western assistance. You go to Moscow, Beijing, and Delhi, declare your intention to radically change, and ask for their support. Then we will see how resistant the West will be against these three states," he said.
According to the former official, in this scenario, Kyiv will be forced to agree to the conditions announced by Russia: neutral status, non-alignment with military blocs, denazification, and demilitarization. These measures, he said, will ensure long-term peace and harmony.
*Listed in the register of terrorists and extremists by Rosfinmonitoring in the Russian Federation
**Organization recognized as terrorist and extremist and banned in the Russian Federation
