Putin categorically denies Ukrainian national identity, for him Ukraine is a part of Russia, Italian Ambassador to Ukraine Pier Francesco Zazo said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

When asked if the ambassador sees the end of Russian aggression against Ukraine in the foreseeable future, he replied that “it's hard to say.”

“Perhaps the only thing I can say is that Putin is quite clear. He is in no hurry because he is waiting for the results of the U.S. elections. He managed to successfully reduce the negative impact of sanctions and transfer the Russian economy to the ‘economy of war.’ We have to admit it. I am absolutely sure this is my observation, because I also worked in Russia before: for Putin, Ukraine does not exist … For him, Ukraine is a part of Russia. He categorically denies the Ukrainian national identity,” Zazo said.

He stressed that “because of the dangerous and fundamentalist ideology of the Russian world, the Putin regime considers Russians and Ukrainians to be one nation.”

“His biggest mistake was to believe that Russian-speaking people in Ukraine are also Russophiles. Today, Ukrainians have a strong national identity, especially among young people. I can see how it has changed since 2014. Moreover, it does not matter what language they speak,” the diplomat said.

He also noted that Putin is the only one who decides when the war ends.

“Since, of course, the war could end tomorrow if he withdraws his army. However, he may think that people will get tired, and then maybe he will get a compromise and a cease-fire. Moreover, it will probably be only a temporary truce, we understand that,” Zazo said.

The ambassador stressed that Russia cannot win, because it would mean “the end of the world order,” and Ukrainians are fighting “not just for their own survival, but for the principles of freedom, democracy, pluralism and the rule of law.”

He also added that the West, the European Union and NATO have demonstrated “amazing unity, and Putin did not expect this.”

“Putin was sure that Europe would remain silent anyway, because we were completely dependent on Russian energy resources, but now this is not the case. New countries have become NATO members, such as Sweden and Finland. Incredible changes have taken place. We may not see this now because we live in war day after day, but in two years history has completely changed,” Zazo believes.