Photo from UNIAN
Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak says the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has envisaged measures in case of the invasion of Russian troops amid the Russian-Belarusian West-2017 military exercises, which are to be held on September 14-20, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
"We are monitoring the situation and aware of all the movements of Russian troops to our border. We realize what threats may arise and we will respond adequately to the existing threats and those that may be posed by the exercises," the defense minister said after the presentation of Lieutenant-General Anatoliy Syrotenko as a new head of Ivan Cherniakhovskiy National Defense University in Kyiv.
"The General Staff has envisaged a number of measures that would be adequate to those threats," Poltorak stressed.
He also noted that it was about a "threat of invasion."
Read alsoUkraine seeks defensive arms from different foreign partners - Poltorak"By the way, such a threat is not ruled out despite those drills. The exercises potentially pose a danger, as a large number of military personnel is moving to the Ukrainian border as part of the exercises on the territory of Belarus," Poltorak said.
"Everything that happens on the border with Ukraine is seen as an unfriendly move and a threat to Ukraine," the minister added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Russian-Belarusian West-2017 exercises are scheduled for September 14-20. Over 13,000 servicemen must be involved in the drills, according to preliminary data.
Poltorak believes that the exercises can be used to launch aggression both against Ukraine and any European country having a common border with Russia.