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Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov does not believe in the possibility of capturing Kyiv by Russian troops currently stationed in Belarus. Reznikov stated this during a briefing on February 21.
“According to our data, there are 9,000 representatives of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation plus equipment, including missiles. Such a contingent as someone says that there will be an attack on Kyiv from the Belarusian side – excuse me, it sounds ridiculous. But threatening us, intimidating us, creating a shaky situation – yes, it works.”
Reznikov added he had agreed with Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin on direct contacts. February 20 he wrote a letter to his Belarusian counterpart asking for a telephone conversation on February 21 to ask what was happening and why the “training” with Russia was continuing.
Read also: Putin’s biggest mistake – he alienated millions of Ukrainians, – Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba
The minister noted that Ukraine predicted that Russian troops would not leave Belarus after the exercises: “They were located from the Far East for several weeks, obviously not to train for 10 days and return back in a while.”
According to the Minister, sudden “exercises” in Transnistria are also designed to sow panic, to which Ukraine is already responding.
According to the Ministry of Defense, Russian units near the border of Ukraine amount to 127,000 people of the ground component, and 147,000 people together with the naval and aviation component.
“We do not underestimate the threats, we just evaluate them. We were told that on February 16, there would be an attack. We replied it was impossible because there was no readiness. This does not mean that if the Kremlin makes a decision, they will not be able to do it – they can, they may have such a plan. But I am convinced that today the maneuver for a political-diplomatic solution to the outbreak of a large-scale war still exists,” Reznikov assured.
As Ukraine’s MFA head Dmytro Kuleba has noted at Munich Security Conference, Ukraine does not want war; however, it is ready to defend itself.
Read also: Russia-backed militants shelled 22 civilian houses in Kyiv-controlled part of Donbas during last day
February 17, the situation in the Donbas conflict area worsened after a relative lull. As reported earlier, Russia-backed militants shelled a number of civilian facilities, including a school and a kindergarten.
Find out more details on the attacks here.
Over the past 24 hours, 80 ceasefire violations by the armed forces of Russian-backed militants were recorded, 72 of which were performed by the weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements. In addition, 22 houses of civilians in the Kyiv-controlled territory of Donbas were damaged during heavy shelling on the line of contact.
Russian-Belarus joint military drills code-named Allied Resolve 2022 have conducted air and ground operations in Belarus, aiming to reinforce capabilities and sharpen their edge in all-weather combat circumstances. Videos released by Russia’s Defense Ministry demonstrated the scenarios within the framework of the drills. The Russian and the Belarusian Air Force together conducted patrols along the borders of the two countries. They accomplished their mission in complex weather conditions by flying in both single and duo-flight formations. The military exercises kicked off on February 10 and were planned to end on February 20, however, it did not happen, and the drills still take place.
