Serbia orders large quantities of food as Ukraine-Russia tensions mount, according to CNN affiliate
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said Saturday that Russia — which he described as “the aggressor” — would not capture any Ukrainian cities if it attempts to invade the country.
In a statement, Reznikov said the “armed forces of Ukraine are absolutely ready to fight back and will not give up Ukrainian lands,” as fears of a Russian invasion grow among the country’s international allies.
Back in 2014, Reznikov said Ukrainians “were not psychologically ready to resist someone with whom they sat at the same table yesterday,” but “the situation is completely different” now. That was the year in which Russia annexed Ukraine’s southern Crimea peninsula and conflict broke out between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.
“Everyone who has looked into the eyes of our soldiers at least once is sure that there will be no repeat of 2014, the aggressor will not capture either Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv or any other city,” Reznikov said.
The defense minister added that Ukraine has its most powerful army in 15 years.
Lt. Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said in the statement that an active phase of command and staff exercises was underway at training grounds throughout the country. Ukraine is “constantly increasing our defense capabilities, coherence of units and military skills,” he said.
Having strengthened its defenses for the capital of Kyiv, and “gone through war and proper training,” Ukraine is now “ready to meet enemies… not with flowers, but with stingers, Javelins and NLAW,” Zaluzhny said, referring to weaponry systems.
Reznikov added that the country was also bolstered by the “unprecedented support” it has received from international partners, describing that support as “the largest ever since independence.”
He strongly criticized claims from Moscow that “Ukraine plans to attack Russia,” calling them “absurd.”
“We are not going to attack anyone, but we are doing everything to strengthen our defense and eliminate the possibility of escalation,” Reznikov said. Ukraine plans “to follow a political and diplomatic path” to regain the temporarily occupied territories, he added.
He urged Ukrainians to “remain calm” in the face of mounting warnings, calling calmness “the main weapon that can provide us with a solid foundation for defense.”
