Stefanchuk: We don’t rule out new stage of crisis due to Russia’s possible military aggression against Ukraine this winter

He made a relevant statement at the 11th Session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, and the Seimas and the Senate of the Republic of Poland, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“Ukraine is closely monitoring the concentration of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Ukrainian direction. We do not rule out that the build-up of Russian troops at a certain distance from the state border with Ukraine will continue and will peak at the end of January 2022. We do not rule out a new stage of the crisis due to possible military aggression this winter," Stefanchuk said.

He added that these actions are accompanied by aggressive statements by representatives of the Russian leadership, as well as anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western sentiments in the Russian media.

Stefanchuk stressed that the Government of Ukraine perceives such a policy of Russia, in particular, as pressure on Ukraine to destabilize the situation and force a change in the strategic foreign policy of the state. At the same time, he stressed that Ukrainian politicians will not allow this to happen.

As reported, on December 3, 2021, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov announced that Ukrainian intelligence was analyzing all scenarios of a possible large-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. The end of January may be the probable time to reach readiness for escalation. The total number of troops in Russia, as well as in the temporarily occupied territories, which may be involved in the escalation, is currently estimated at 94,300 people.

Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk pays a visit to the Republic of Poland on December 5-6 to take part in the 11th Session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, and the Seimas and the Senate of the Republic of Poland.

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