REUTERS

Russia is preparing for the next world war, which might start within the next 6 years, that's according to a head of the Information Security Department at National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Valentyn Petrov.

Analyzing the escalation of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine at a Kyiv presentation on Thursday, Petrov noted that Ukraine is not Russia's ultimate goal, but only an element of their preparation for a wider offensive.

“If you look at modern Russian military initiatives, you could say that this is not only about preparing for a war with Ukraine, it is one of the elements of a broader strategic deployment of the Russian offensive machine. It stretches from the North Sea to Syria. In fact, we can talk about preparations for a world war,” said Petrov.

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According to the head of the NSDC's information security department, such global conflict may develop in the coming years.

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“Now all rearmament plans of all major powers, in particular, the Russian Federation, have deadlines in 2023-2025. The world could be 'ready' for a global conflict to start in just six years, or even earlier,” noted Petrov.

According to the official, in a hypothetical third world war "Russia, reinforced by Ukraine's resources, will be a completely different Russia."

Petrov stressed that it's not only the Ukrainian authorities, but also the Western elites, who gradually start grasping the idea that Ukraine needs to support.

According to Petrov, the next year will be of fundamental importance for Ukraine, in particular, in connection with the presidential and parliamentary elections, where the aggressor state will try to meddle.

Read alsoUkraine should prepare for more Russian cyberattacks ahead of 2019 elections - expert

“It is absolutely clear that our opponent will try to take advantage of this. There is a “military card”, military units are deployed at the border. This is really a terrible force, and this force is set not only against Ukraine – it plans to go right through Ukraine and, moving further, go through Belarus to the Baltic countries and Poland,” said the head of the Information Security Service of the NSDC.

He stressed that the Russians will try to influence the situation in Ukraine on the eve of the elections by hybrid means "through information and cyber campaigns," but the security and defense sector is ready for these threats.

Answering the question about whether the state has plans to develop the latest military technologies, Petrov noted that “new anti-aircraft complexes, tactical missiles, anti-ship complexes” are being developed at the moment.

According to Petrov, the quality of Ukraine's Armed Forces is changing, which is a key advantage over the Russian aggressor.

He stressed that, despite the escalation of hybrid aggression and internal problems, Ukraine is becoming stronger and ready for new challenges.

“Gradually we are turning into a completely different power. Step by step, we're becoming stronger,” he concluded.