Ukraine sees no efforts by Russia to de-escalate situation - Kuleba

Ukraine now does not see any withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine's borders and no efforts by Russia to de-escalate the situation.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this at a joint briefing with the foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria in Kyiv on Tuesday, February 8, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The security situation remains generally unchanged - we do not see any withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine's border by Russia, we do not see any efforts by Russia to de-escalate. We see that now the basic scenario for Russia is to try to destabilize the internal situation in Ukraine by using the threat of force, but not yet the armed force itself," Kuleba said.

He added that Ukraine is preparing for any scenario, as this war has been going on since 2014. He said it was extremely important that Ukraine has support from friends and partners, including the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia, in the diplomatic deterrence of Russia.

In this context, Kuleba thanked the EU for its statements on future sanctions against Russia in the event of further aggression against Ukraine.

"These are all measures to deter the Russian Federation. We are also grateful for the strengthening of Ukraine's defense - these are also measures to deter Russia, because the best deterrence of Russia is a strong Ukraine," Kuleba said.

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