Ukraine should not be the initiator of the military liberation of the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, and the country should direct its forces to integrate with the West.

This was reported in an interview with Apostrophe Russian historian and oppositionist Andrei Zubov.

"Military liberation of the Donbass is absolutely unnecessary now, because, of course, sooner or later the entire Donbass and Crimea will again be Ukrainian. And do not provoke Russia now, which, of course, will be happy about it, because military action on the one hand means military opposition on the other side, "he said..

According to the historian, if Ukraine becomes the initiator of a military conflict with Russia, it will remain without the support of the West, which is not a supporter of a violent resolution of the conflict in the Donbass.

Therefore, Zubov considers it expedient for Ukraine to strive for integration with the European Union and NATO. In the free territory, it is necessary to eradicate corruption and the oligarchy, as well as to strengthen democratic systems.

"And so, I think, you will have prospects. The more Ukraine will be integrated and even just try to integrate into the Western community, only honestly, without hiding the vices of the old authoritarian system, the more the West will protect it and help it, "Zubov explains..