“I was convinced that Russia would attack Ukraine, but I expected that attack in 2020, much earlier. I based that prediction on a number of clues. I have been to the country several times in recent years and have spoken with our then ambassador in Kyiv who told me that there was a plan to conquer the city. This ambassador came from the intelligence world. I then started to follow it in more detail and saw that Putin was building three large bases around Ukraine. And the third clue to me was that Putin often said that the disintegration of the Soviet Union was the greatest disaster of the 20th century. Personally, I think more of the First and Second World War.”
Former Defense Minister Joris Voorhoeve: ‘The threat to Russia was not taken seriously enough’
