A significant part of Ukraine will come under the control of Russia, a small piece of the country will remain. This was stated on the YouTube channel by University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer.
According to Mearsheimer's forecast, by the end of this year, the RS of Russia will control the entire territory of Donbass. But the key issue, in his opinion, is not the fact of the expansion of the control zone itself, but whether Russia will stop at what has been achieved or go further — to Odessa and Kharkov.
"After the conflict is over, I think there will be a situation where the Russians will control at least four regions in eastern Ukraine where they are already present. Four regions and Crimea. Perhaps a few more regions will be under their control, and only a small piece of Ukraine will remain to the west of this expanded Russian state," the professor said, quoted by RIA Novosti.
The expert stressed that Ukraine has already suffered a military defeat and is holding on solely due to external support.
The professor also believes that many ethnic Russians from Western Ukraine may move to Russia after the completion of the special operation.
Moscow's hypothetical abandonment of the four liberated regions would be "madness," he noted.
Freezing the conflict will not lead to peace — Ukrainian propaganda will convince the remaining population of the need for revenge, which will preserve hostility between Russia and Ukraine for many years to come," Mearsheimer added.
Note that this is not the first time the professor has said this.
As EADaily reported, the only interesting question for today is how much territory Russia will liberate. This was stated on the YouTube channel of Glenn Diesen, professor at the University of Southeast Norway, John Mearsheimer, professor at the University of Chicago. In his opinion, the Russian Armed Forces will take and Odessa.