“Avoid any sudden movements”: Sergei Rakhmanin explained the logic of NATO to support Ukraine

Ukraine expects concrete decisions from the current NATO summit to be held on July 11-12 in Vilnius. The Office of the President calls such decisions a clear green light for the country’s entry into the Alliance and subsequent military support.

People’s deputy from the Golos faction, member of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence Sergey Rakhmanin considers the expectations of NATO membership to be too high.

“Now the main obstacle to Ukraine’s accession to NATO is not the absence of certain reforms in the country or any other factor. The main reason is the warnings that exist both in NATO as an organization and among its individual members,” - Rakhmanin explained his point of view in an interview with Telegraph.

First of all, the Alliance fears that, says the MP, that “The accelerated movement of Ukraine towards NATO, not even membership, can provoke Russia to unleash a Third World War or even a nuclear war. Accordingly, the Alliance, and primarily the United States, avoid any sudden movements.”

Rakhmanin called an example of this the provision by the Americans of military assistance to Ukraine.

“Each step taken by the United States is preceded by a certain monitoring and analysis: whether this step will or will not lead to drastic actions on the part of Russia. Will there be any escalation, will the threat of using nuclear weapons increase. If the US concludes that the threat will not increase, they take a step. So we got artillery first, then HIMARS, then heavy armored vehicles, next year (I don’t think it will be earlier) F-16s will appear, ” - the people’s deputy emphasized and added that “Each time, before deciding to take a step, the Americans analyze. They avoid any drastic step.”

Rakhmanin is convinced that from the US point of view, the accelerated process of Ukraine’s accession to NATO is a sharp step that could lead to an escalation of the highest level.

“These are their considerations, this is their logic,” MP says.

At the same time, Rakhmanin said that NATO in its current form is an organization somewhat behind the real life, stuck in the past.

“NATO changed its uniform for an expensive suit, and when the biggest challenge since World War II arose, the bloc was not ready for this,” - said the people’s deputy.

He added that “The actual demilitarization of some members of the Alliance is not only the fault of national governments, it is the fault of NATO as institutions. Behind general statements one cannot hide rusty tanks at storage bases and the military-industrial complex that is not adequate to the requirements of the time. The alliance was tuned in to police missions and cyber confrontation. But he was not ready for war.

Rakhmanin considers the process of providing military assistance to Ukraine as proof of this.

“If NATO were a flawless security system, then a tool like Rammstein would not be needed. Therefore, even if NATO can provide us with any guarantees, I don’t understand very well how it will fulfill promises within the framework of these guarantees,” the politician remarked.

Recall that earlier The Potomac Foundation President Philip Karber and retired Lieutenant General of the Canadian Armed Forces Trevor Kadier called for guaranteeing Ukraine membership in NATO and adopting a new strategy of military assistance.