Washington had long been warned about the risks associated with Kievβs NATO bid but reportedly decided to push forward
Washington and its European allies have long been fully aware that their policy of encouraging Kievβs NATO ambitions could lead to dire consequences, WikiLeaks has said in a video report, citing a trove of diplomatic cables it had obtained.
Moscow has explicitly warned American diplomats about risks of violent strife in Ukraine and instability for the whole region linked to Kievβs ever deeper integration into the US-led bloc years before the Ukraine conflict broke out, the sources cited by WikiLeaks suggest. Paris has also warned Washington that such a policy could lead to war, while Berlin outright opposed the idea in the 2000s, according to the documents.
The report was provided by Magnus von Wangenheim, a German medic, who had spent βyears dealing with WikiLeaks’ publications and the treatment of its founder Julian Assange,β according to AcTVism, a German NGO which he produces video reports for.
Paris points to dangers of war
Washington received one of the earliest warnings about the risks associated with Ukraineβs NATO ambitions from France, the documents analyzed by WikiLeaks suggest.
A 2005 diplomatic cable reporting on a meeting between then-US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried as well as several high-ranking French officials says Paris was worried about such a prospect.
βIf there remained one potential cause for war in Europe, it was Ukraine,β the document said, citing French Presidential Diplomatic Advisor Maurice Gourdault-Montagne. The diplomat warned that Moscow already believed that the US and its allies were βdoing too muchβ in Russiaβs βcore zone of interest,β and warned that such actions could eventually lead to a forceful response on Russiaβs part.
Fried admitted at that time that there was no national consensus on NATO membership within Ukraine itself, according to the same cable. He still dismissed concerns about Moscowβs possible military response and a potential violent split within Ukraine over the issue.
Russia warns of βuncontrolled consequencesβ
Only thing that can spark war in Europe:
— VIVEKANAND TRIPATHI (@VTRIPATHI) February 25, 2025
WikiLeaks reports on US approach to Ukraine and NATO β RT World News
https://t.co/NqF440VAnb