Russia has not made any moves to remove soldiers it has concentrated on the Ukrainian border, but there is no sign that a Russian invasion is imminent, a top-ranking Ukrainian security official said on Wednesday.
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s Security and Defense Council, told Reuters in an interview that Russia has 92,000 troops on the border, but that it would need many more if it were to actually invade his country.
Danilov said the Ukrainian government remains concerned about the military buildup and that there has been no major change in the situation since a December 7 videoconference in which US President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to invade Ukraine.
“Nothing has changed,” said Danilov, whose council brings together senior military and security officials. “There was some (increase in the number of soldiers), but not critical enough for us to say ‘that’s it, (an invasion) is going to happen now.”
He said Russia would need at least 500,000 to 600,000 troops on the border “in order to keep the situation under control in the event of an offensive.”
Danilov said that Russia could raise the number of troops very quickly and at any time, but that it would need more than 24 hours to bring enough troops to the border to organize an invasion.
The Ukrainian government hopes the West will help with arms supplies in the event of a Russian invasion, he said.
Russia, which annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014, denies planning an attack but accuses the United States and Ukraine of destabilizing behavior.
The Russian government calls for security assurances that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will not expand eastward, but the military alliance rejects demands to revoke a 2008 commitment to Ukraine to become its member one day. European Union leaders warn of further sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine.
Danilov said Ukraine does not plan to make matters worse by moving to regain control of the country’s east, where Russian-backed separatists are battling Ukrainian government forces.
Ukraine needs to take part in any talks about its aspirations for NATO membership, the secretary said.
“We will not take orders from anyone, we will not tolerate any tsar, we are a different kind of people,” he said.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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