The former prime minister of Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Monday that Russia will attack other former territories of the Soviet Union, many of which are members of NATO and the European Union, if they should prevail in Ukraine.
Mikhail Kasyanov, who served as Putin’s first Prime Minister and who is currently an open critic of the Kremlin’s decision to invade Ukraine, detailed his belief that Russia will come after the Baltic States, which were previously part of the Soviet Union, if Putin wins the war in Ukraine, according to the Daily Beast.
The Baltic States, which comprise Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and it is believed that an attack on any of those countries could trigger a massive war between Russia, and the rest of Europe, and the United States.
Kasyanov’s belief also mirrors some of Putin’s recent statements, where he harkens back to Russian tsar Peter the Great’s conquests as a way of justifying conquests on land which Putin and Russia may believe is theirs in the first place.
“Peter the Great returned territories and fortified them. This destiny has also fallen to us,” Putin said in a statement. “It is our responsibility also to take back and strengthen.”
Putin has refused to budge regarding the war against Ukraine, and in spite of sanctions, Russia has reportedly been making a profit selling oil and natural gas at discounted rates to countries that are not participating in the sanctions as well as a few countries who are, Business Insider reported.
“The volume of oil is decreasing on the worldwide market, prices are rising — that is all,” he said. “Companies' incomes are increasing in monetary terms. Everyone sees this, everyone understands this.”
Kasyanov has reportedly left Russia in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, one of the tens of thousands of individuals–many of whom are prominent critics of the government–who have fled the country due to the war, the Moscow Times reported.
He has commented on Putin’s reportedly declining health publicly and has also openly wondered about who would fill the power vacuum that could occur if Putin should find himself deposed from public service.
“I have no doubt that now, after the tragedy that we are all witnessing, the opposition will unite,” he said.
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