Does Putin want to "crush" NATO? | Conflict Zone

As the NATO summit gets underway in Madrid, former Russian member of Parliament Ilya Ponomarev told DW’s Conflict Zone Vladimir Putin's war aims go way beyond Ukraine.

He argues it is NATO that's firmly in Putin’s sights. “He wants to crush NATO, that's his strategic goal,” said Ponomarev.

Ponomarev has an unusual role in this war. He once sat in the lower house of Russia's parliament, then in 2014 became the only member to vote against the annexation of Crimea.

He is now based in Kyiv, from where he also spoke to Conflict Zone host Tim Sebastian about the current public mood in Russia and whether a civil war in the country is inevitable, as he has argued in the past.

"What Vladimir Putin learned and taught Russians very accurately is that there is no way to get rid of him through the elections process," he stressed.

Conflict Zone is Deutsche Welle's top political interview. Every week, our hosts Tim Sebastian and Sarah Kelly are face to face with global decision-makers, seeking straight answers to straight questions, putting the spotlight on controversial issues and calling the powerful to account.

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