The President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Petro Poroshenko emphasizes that the threat of possible invasion of the Russian armed forces into the territory of the Ukrainian state remains.
“Russia has not retreated from the possibility of achieving its goals in Ukraine by armed means. The aggressor is deploying new military units near our borders, building up the potential for possible invasion,” the President said, speaking to the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
He said that “in the western strategic direction, the enemy continues to form a united strategic command “West” consisting of two all-arms armies, a tank army, an army corps, an army of air forces and air defense”.
The President noted that “in the southwest strategic direction, the Eighth all-arms army directly manages two Russian army corps deployed in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions”.
“We are witnessing an unprecedented militarization of the Black Sea region. In the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, the aggressor has created a powerful army unit, which includes ground, air and sea components with a total of more than 30 thousand troops. Missile units equipped with Iskander complexes are being formed and deployed near our borders,” the Head of State said.
“The creation of new strike forces in the west and south-west strategic directions has nothing to do with defense. We understand that these forces are intended for a military strike. This is what the Kremlin is preparing for,” the President said.
“Therefore, I think that the threat of a full-scale war is not a declaration, it is quite real, especially in light of the current military preparations of the enemy. Preparations are conducted near the state border of Ukraine in Smolensk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Rostov regions and in the annexed Crimea,” the Head of State warned.
“But it would be a mistake to think that the appetites of Russia are limited to Ukraine only. Its hybrid war aims to drastically change the geopolitical landscape of the whole Europe. Sometimes plans are extended to global changes as well. I have told that during the speech at the Munich Security Conference,” he added.
The President drew an example of the aggressive actions and intentions of Russia in the Azov-Black Sea region, namely the recent seizure of Ukrainian military seamen and ships in the Kerch Strait.
“Under these conditions, constant training of the Armed Forces, their armament and equipment, strategic decisions that are being taken in the security sector are of particular importance,” the Head of State summed up.
