Russia actively 'preparing' for elections not only in Ukraine, but also in EU - Poroshenko

He stated this at an international conference "The Hybrid War Decade. Lessons Learned to Move Forward Successfully" in Kyiv on Wednesday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Russia is not going to play games. It is ready to use the most cynical and cruel methods for the sake of its maniacal ideas. The goal of this hybrid war is to undermine the foundations of the entire democratic world. Not so much with direct blows, but from within," Poroshenko said.

The president also stressed that Russia is currently actively "preparing" not only for the elections in Ukraine, but also for the elections to the European Parliament and elections in certain European countries in order to undermine the unity of the EU.

"Why conquer someone physically, if it can be done spiritually and mentally? Russia has no idea of its own, attractive to others, but it has learned well to destroy the ideas of others. How? Through a powerful disinformation campaign," Poroshenko said.

At the same time, Poroshenko stressed that an economically successful and militarily strong Ukraine, integrated into Europe, remains the main deterrent to further aggressive plans of the Kremlin.

op