The Russia Federation's key idea is to destabilize the situation in Ukraine, and this is a signal for the West that Moscow has got an opportunity to undermine the international security system, Julianne Smith who served as a Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States Joe Biden from 2012-2013 has announced.

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum on October 25, Smith said that she thinks that the key idea is to destabilize the internal Ukrainian policy to show to the NATO, the United States, and the EU that Russians have got plenty of opportunities to undermine the system. She said that we need to send Russia a signal that this is a "red line" and we will not tolerate the annexation of the territory of sovereign nations.

She said that she expects a more active stance of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration when it comes to providing arms to Ukraine.

The expert added that the United States and Europe are being distracted by China, in particular. She believes this is a problem because while Ukraine is staying out of the focus of international attention, Russia is escalating its aggressive actions in Ukraine. She said she is interested to see when at long last Trump's administration makes the decision to start providing arms to Ukrainians.

She said that Moscow is still trying to interfere with the domestic affairs of Ukraine. Smith said that, unfortunately, it is as clear as day that Russia is not interested in leaving Ukraine, and this does not meet the expectations of the international community in its campaign to isolate Russia and impose sanctions on it.