President Poroshenko: Russia gets ready to offensive war on continental scale

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said this today during his annual address on the internal and external situation of Ukraine to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"There is still no indication that Moscow is ready to retreat from Donbas or withdraw from Crimea. However, there is increasing evidence that Russia gets ready to offensive war on a continental scale. For example, the Russia-Belarus military exercise Zapad 2017... Naturally, we have strengthened the control at all the sections of the state border due to this reason," Poroshenko said.

The President of Ukraine stressed that new main attacks forces of Russian troops could have been created under the guise of strategic command and staff exercises to invade Ukraine. "Seven thousand platforms with troops and equipment have approached or are approaching our borders... And there are no guarantees they will return from Belarus to Russia after the maneuvers end," the Head of State said.

In this context, Poroshenko recalled how Russia had aligned forces to seize Crimea in 2014 under the guise of alleged safety precautions at the Olympics in Sochi. In the second half of July 2008, the Ukrainian President added, when the Kavkaz 2008 military exercises were taking place, Russian troops attacked Georgia instead of returning from the training grounds to their permanent bases.

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