The former head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine told the Guardian about the absence of an "invading army" on the border
Former head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Zagorodnyuk said that rumors about a "huge Russian army" at the eastern borders of the country are exaggerated. According to him, the Ukrainian military does not see those 200 thousand people who are needed for the invasion. In addition, the ex-minister said that he did not believe in the inevitability of a Russian attack. The current head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Alexey Reznik, also considers the probability of an invasion to be low.
Rumors about a huge Russian army near the borders of Ukraine are exaggerated, and the "invasion" is not "inevitable." This was stated in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian by the ex-Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Zagorodnyuk.
At the same time, Zagorodnyuk called the current situation "very difficult." He said that the ruthless buildup of Russian troops is going "like a textbook," but the Kremlin's intentions and strategy remain opaque.
"We don't see a political endgame here. If Putin captures Kiev, there will be a full-scale war. The Ukrainian army will fight. There will be huge resistance. Why would he do that?" the ex-minister said.
Zagorodnyuk added that no one in Europe needs a full-scale war.
The acting head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Oleksiy Reznik, also said on Sunday, February 6, that he estimates the likelihood of an aggravation is low. According to him, "sooner or later" an alleged invasion of Ukraine may happen, but there is no "momentary risk".
Kiev is not preparing attacks on Donbass and Crimea, Reznik noted. "We will not attack: Ukrainians live in Crimea, Lugansk, Donetsk, and they would be in danger," the head of the military department of Ukraine assured.
The day before, Reuters reported, citing sources in Washington, that "Russia has accumulated up to 70% of the military power necessary for the invasion at the borders of Ukraine." According to the New York Times, citing unnamed sources, in the event of a war in Ukraine, human casualties will number tens of thousands.
The APU may lose 5-25 thousand soldiers, the Russian military - 3-10 thousand people, and 25-50 thousand people will die among the civilian population, the newspaper's interlocutors are convinced.
Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, commented on reports that Russia is 70% ready to invade Ukraine. He wrote about it on Twitter.
"Another masterpiece of the US propaganda war. Unnamed administration officials, undisclosed sources, no evidence. And as we have all seen, if you openly question such fakes, you will not get an answer, and you will be branded a Russian spy," Polyansky wrote.
Ivan Zhukovsky
