Ukraine says Russia has not assembled enough troops to launch a full-scale invasion making a focused Russian attack more likely
The Foreign Minister of Ukraine – Dmytro Kuleba has said that Russia has not assembled enough troops across its borders to launch an imminent full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Addressing a Press Conference, he said that while Russian troops could attack Ukraine anytime but it, as had been the case since 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, but currently would not be able to mount a full offensive.
Kuleba told reporters, “The number of Russian troops amassed along the border of Ukraine and in occupied territories is large, it poses a threat — a direct threat to Ukraine.”
He further said, “However, as we speak this number is insufficient for a full-scale offensive along the entire Ukrainian border. They also lack some important military indicators and systems to conduct such a large full-scale offensive.”
Ukraine has warned that Russia is trying to destabilize the country ahead of any planned military invasion. Kuleba told reporters that a military invasion is not the only threat to Ukraine.
Kuleba said, “We see a scenario of destabilization of Ukraine and that scenario is imminent, it’s already taking place — by spreading panic, by putting pressure on Ukraine’s financial system, by conducting cyber-attacks against Ukraine.”
He said that for Ukraine, the top priority is to keep things under control, to be realistic in the assessment of immediate threat while not diminishing the threat of potential military invasion. He assured the people of Ukraine that even in case of military attack, Ukraine is well prepared to handle the Russian troops.
Kuleba said that Ukraine is sure that President of United States (U.S.) – Joe Biden is personally committed to Ukraine and will not allow Russia to destroy it. However, he did term the U.S.’s move of calling back its Embassy staff from Kyiv as immature. He clarified that evacuations create panic and this is what Russia wants to destabilize Ukraine from the inside and to make it weaker without resorting to military force.
Separately, Biden has said that U.S. will impose personal sanctions on the president of Russia – Vladimir Putin if Russia goes ahead and invades Ukraine.
Reacting to Biden’s comments, Putin’s Spokesperson – Dmitry Peskov said that such sanctions would not be “painful” for the President but would be “politically destructive”.
Meanwhile, Russia is adamant on its demand that it wants legal guaranteed from NATO that it will not add any new member to the group, including Ukraine. Also, NATO would immediately remove its troops from Ukraine to de-escalate the tensions.
