The head of Ukrainian diplomacy nevertheless believes that the Russian soldiers already deployed are “a threat”.
Despite the high tensions with Russia, Kiev does not seem to expect an imminent attack. The number of Russian soldiers deployed on the borders with Ukraine “is insufficient for a full-scale offensive against Ukraine along the entire Ukrainian border”, estimated the head of Ukrainian diplomacy during an online press briefing on Wednesday 26 January.
This deployment of troops “is important, it poses a threat to Ukraine”, however nuanced Dmytro Kouleba, adding that “that doesn’t mean they can’t increase it to a sufficient level with a certain period of time.”
Russia has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to Ukraine’s borders in recent months and multiplied the maneuvers, the last in data having started on Tuesday.
For Kiev, Moscow is already carrying out in Ukraine the scenario of “destabilize” in “sowing panic, putting pressure on the Ukrainian financial system, carrying out cyberattacks against Ukraine”, argued Dmytro Kouleba.
