The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andrii Zagorodniuk announced the readiness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to defend the country from an “attack” of Russia.
“We look at different scenarios. Of course, we have worked out answers to such a scenario (invasion from the Russian Federation. - RT ), ”Zagorodniuk said on the air of the TSN.Tizhden program on the 1 + 1 TV channel.
The head of the military department noted that he was worried about the "militarization of the Crimea", but at the same time, intelligence had not yet recorded a "critical strengthening" of Russian troops near Ukraine.
“We always feel threatened. Because our task is to protect the country under any scenario and, of course, we are looking at different scenarios now. We do not see any critical gain, that is, that would not be part of those plans that we have known about since the beginning of the year, ”said Zagorodniuk.
When asked by a journalist about how NATO could help Kiev, Zagorodniuk said that the alliance is providing "systemic support" aimed at developing the interoperability of the Ukrainian army with the military forces of the military bloc. He also recalled that Western countries supply Ukraine with military equipment and train personnel.
In addition, Zagorodniuk said that in the framework of the country's integration into NATO, the authorities in the future can cancel the mandatory draft for military service. According to the Minister of Defense, the transition to a contract army is consistent with the official position of the Ukrainian state and its personal point of view on the method of manning the armed forces.
- Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andrii Zagorodniuk
- © SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP
Old rhetoric
Kiev regularly makes accusations against Moscow about allegedly available invasion plans. In the middle of last month, Aleksey Taran, deputy head of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that Russia was allegedly preparing for "full-scale military aggression" against Ukraine. The attack, as the officer believes, can occur, including from the territory of Belarus and Moldova.
The daily reports of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation mention Russian units that allegedly conduct provocative shelling of Ukrainian positions in the Donbass. For example, a November 11 report said that “Russian armed forces” violated the ceasefire 11 times.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky also repeatedly spoke about the "aggression" that the country was subjected to and the need to take measures to repel the "attack." In early autumn, he ordered the Ministry of Defense to approve a “defense plan, a set of measures to ensure the country's security against aggression."
At the end of September, speaking from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly, Zelensky demonstrated a 12.7 mm bullet. According to him, the Ukrainian opera singer Vasily Slipak, who “defended Ukraine from Russian aggression,” died from a similar bullet. The President of Ukraine said that Russia invaded the Donbass and “annexed” Crimea.
In a conversation with RT, retired colonel Andrei Koshkin, head of the Department of Political Science and Sociology of the Russian University of Economics named after G. V. Plekhanov, stated that the current leadership of Ukraine continues to “exploit Russophobic rhetoric”. According to the expert, it is necessary to maintain radical sentiment in society and justify the country's pro-Western course.
“Ukrainian statehood was originally based on the rejection of all Russian and Russian. In a way, this is a natural state for those who fall into high Kiev offices. It is not surprising that Zelensky and his entourage, albeit in a slightly less rigid form, continue to repeat the theses that Poroshenko previously voiced. Zelensky also probably sees in Russophobia a way to bring the country closer to NATO, ”said Koshkin.
- President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
- © Reuters / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service
In a commentary on RT, columnist for Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine Dmitry Drozdenko suggested that regular statements about "Russian aggression" allow Kiev to maintain a tense situation in the Donbass. According to the expert, the current Ukrainian authorities are not interested in a peaceful settlement of the civil conflict.
“Endless scarecrows about the impending attack of the Russian army are needed to divert public attention from internal problems. In reality, Kiev is well aware that nothing like this will happen. Therefore, Zagorodniuk makes a reservation that, they say, now Moscow is not building up its force groupings. In fact, the Russian Federation is pursuing a very correct policy near the Ukrainian border, avoiding actions that can be construed as provocative, ”Drozdenko emphasized.
"On the empty place"
Integration into the North Atlantic Alliance is perceived by Kiev as one of the ways to strengthen the country's defense capabilities. On October 31, at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Zelensky said that Ukraine was pursuing a “comprehensive reform”, within the framework of which troop command and control systems, logistics schemes and medical support procedures were being changed.
As a result of the negotiations, Zelensky and Stoltenberg did not announce the amount of military assistance to the alliance that will be provided to the Armed Forces. In previous years, Ukraine through trust funds received more than € 40 million through NATO.
As explained by Andrei Koshkin, Kiev "gets the crumbs from the NATO table." Only the United States provides more or less significant military assistance to the Armed Forces (about $ 250 million annually). The “support” of the alliance boils down to providing mainly advisory services and financing of certain structural reforms in the armed forces.
Koshkin explained the current situation by the unwillingness of European states to aggravate relations with Russia. Also, as the expert suggests, Brussels fears that Kiev will not be able to “appropriately” allocate the allocated funds. According to the expert, the peak of strengthening relations between Ukraine and the alliance fell on 2014-2015, and then relations began to decline.
“Stoltenberg’s visit actually ended in nothing, although Kiev clearly expected more. To hide this void, both sides talk about the need to comply with standards, although when the expansion to the east took place, the alliance turned a blind eye to the quality of their implementation. Brussels is not going to open the door for Kiev, so the current cooperation is bypassing the Membership Action Plan (MAP), ”says Koshkin.
In the context of a shortage of funds for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Kiev is consistently increasing the volume of the military budget. In 2020, it will reach a record level of 245 billion hryvnia (about $ 10 billion). This is almost a quarter of the country's state revenue. Ukraine spends more money only on paying debts to international creditors.
However, the growing allocations to the defense sector do not allow Kiev to successfully solve problems with the rearmament of the army. The so-called Zelensky military doctrine provides for the modernization of the Armed Forces. About 30% of the defense budget is planned to be spent on the purchase of new military equipment.
- Ukrainian soldiers in exercises
- © mil.gov.ua
At the same time, Zelensky’s team promised a serious increase in the monetary allowance of the military. For example, in April, presidential adviser Ivan Aparshin said that soldiers will be able to expect a salary of up to € 1 thousand, and colonels - up to € 2.5 thousand.
According to Dmitry Drozdenko, the promises of Zelensky and his entourage require a multiple increase in the military budget. In his opinion, the explosive increase in the costs of maintaining the APU will turn into a socio-economic disaster for the population. In this regard, the desire of Kiev to create a contract army, he called unrealizable.
“Kiev openly imitates the West, although it is in a completely different position. If, as Zagorodniuk states, Ukraine needs to defend itself against “evil” Russia, then conscripts cannot do without it. As practice shows, the contract army is very expensive for the state and good, especially for expeditionary missions. Yes, and the morale of the contractors, at least Western, is so-so, ”the analyst said.
The leadership of Ukraine continues to carry out inconsistent military reforms, trying to implement NATO standards and deal with the problem of desertion, the expert said.
“The absence of original military traditions has a huge negative impact on the Armed Forces, which, incidentally, is the reason for the unsatisfactory moral and psychological state of the troops. The Ukrainian army arose from scratch, as in the first years of its existence, it renounced the Soviet past. Now the identity of the Armed Forces is based only on blind hatred of Russia and thoughtless indulgence to the West, ”Drozdenko summed up.