Ufologist Nick Pope has said that the Russia-Ukraine crisis is deterring aliens from making their presence known.
During an interview with British tabloid the Daily Star, Pope said “highly evolved extraterrestrials probably regard warfare as something that only primitive civilizations engage in.”
“The Ukraine situation means we’re unlikely to get an invitation to join the Galactic Federation for the time being.”
“Aliens might wonder at the wisdom of the UK going up against Russia, but would probably realize that being in a coalition helps,” he added.
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Russia has massed some 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders, a buildup the West says is preparation for a war to prevent Ukraine from ever joining the NATO Western security alliance.
Moscow denies any plans to invade, instead accusing the West of failing to respect Moscow’s security concerns on its borders.
The Kremlin has demanded that NATO guarantee that Kyiv never be allowed to join NATO and that the alliance withdraw forces from eastern member states that were Soviet allies or republics during the Cold War.
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Washington and its NATO allies have offered Moscow arms control and trust-building measures to defuse the threat of a new Russian offensive against Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has repeatedly played down the prospect of an imminent invasion, has signed a decree to boost his armed forces by 100,000 troops over three years.
Ukraine has been battling Moscow-backed insurgencies in two separatist regions since 2014, when Moscow annexed the peninsula of Crimea.
More than 13,000 people have been killed in the fighting, the last major ongoing war in Europe.
(With inputs from agencies)
