Ukrainian prisoner of war Ilya Lurin, in an interview with Russian news agency RIA Novosti, criticized the Kyiv administration's war strategy. Lurin suggested that instead of aiming to join the European Union or NATO, Ukraine is constantly borrowing and sacrificing many people.
"It turned out that we are neither in Europe nor in NATO," the captured soldier said. "Ukraine is borrowing from everywhere, while also sacrificing many people and sending them to their deaths just to buy time, and there is no ultimate purpose to it."
Lurin also argued that if Ukraine had not distanced itself from Russia, the situation would be much better. "Time has passed, and now I understand that if Ukraine had not distanced itself from Russia, it would have had far fewer problems, at least without war and unnecessary debts," he said.