In an interview with The Atlantic magazine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia would attack Moldova and the Baltic states if Ukraine fell.
“If we will not have enough weapons, that means we will be weak. If we will be weak, they will occupy us. If they occupy us, they will be on the borders of Moldova and they will occupy Moldova. When they have occupied Moldova, they will [travel through] Belarus and they will occupy Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia,” Zelensky said.
His comment came in response to Ronald DeSantis, a republican in the United States hoping to run for president, who claimed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a territorial dispute and Washington should stay out.
Zelensky said that by not supporting Ukraine now, the US would face tougher choices in the future.
“That’s three Baltic countries which are members of NATO. They will occupy them. Of course, [the Balts] are brave people, and they will fight. But they are small. And they don’t have nuclear weapons,” he added. “So they will be attacked by Russians because that is the policy of Russia, to take back all the countries which have been previously part of the Soviet Union.”
According to Zelensky, the US would then face a dilemma of whether to send its troops to defend the Baltic states, or risk the collapse of NATO.
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