Yuliia Laputina, the minister for veterans affairs – who previously served as a top officer in Ukraine’s equivalent of MI5 – told Sky News that her country was ready to defend itself should Moscow launch a new attack.
A full invasion of Ukraine by Russia would spread conflict around Europe and could even trigger World War Three, a Ukrainian government minister has warned.
Yuliia Laputina, the minister for veterans affairs – who previously served as a top officer in Ukraine’s equivalent of MI5 – told Sky News that her country was ready to defend itself should Moscow launch a new attack.
But she said the consequences of further military action by President Vladimir Putin would not be contained within Ukrainian borders.
“If Russia will invade you know, you should also take care about the Balkans. What Russians are doing now in Serbia – they try to provoke a situation in the Balkans,” she said in an interview at her office in Kiev.
“But we also take into account [the beginning of] World War Three.” READ MORE (SKY NEWS)
What are the two sides saying about the risk of conflict?
Russia denies threatening anyone and says it can deploy its troops on its own territory as it pleases.
It has accused Ukraine and NATO of whipping up tensions and suggested Kyiv might be preparing to try to seize back two eastern regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
Russia’s foreign spy agency this week compared the situation with the build-up to a 2008 war in which Russia’s forces crushed those of neighbouring Georgia.
Ukraine denies planning any such offensive and says Russia has more than 92,000 troops massed near its borders for a possible attack.
How likely is a Russian invasion?
Experts believe that President Vladimir Putin is using the credible threat of military force to signal that Russia is serious about defending its “red lines” on Ukraine.
It has stated numerous times in recent weeks that it is not prepared to accept the supply of NATO weapons to Ukraine or any NATO military presence there, let alone the prospect of eventual Ukrainian membership of the alliance.
Putin, these sources added, is adept at escalating and de-escalating crises – as he did in the spring, when more than 100,000 Russian troops gathered near Ukraine’s border and subsequently pulled back. In this way, he is keeping Russia’s opponents guessing about his intentions and reminding the West that Russia is a force to be reckoned with…READ MORE (WION)
Martin comments: While we’re all focused on the ‘dreaded’ Omicron, a virus on par with a mild ‘flu, the world is poised on the brink of war. Distraction and diversion…
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