During an interview with the French edition of Politique International, Kozak was asked "whether it should be understood that in the event of an attack by Ukraine on Donbass, Russia will be forced to defend its inhabitants."
“In this case, it is possible that we will face a situation that is acquiring signs of genocide,” the Russian official replied.
He stated that in Ukraine "there are still extremely radical political groups" that are ready for such actions.
“And, as we have observed recently, the Ukrainian state cannot resist the actions of these groups today.
If in the conflict zone those who today are organizing openly nationalist military actions on the streets of Kiev "reign", it will become a tragedy.
Obviously, not only Russia, but the entire world community will not be indifferent to it.
It is in this context that my April statements should be understood, ”Kozak said.
In April, Kozak issued a statement that Russia could defend the residents of Donbass if forced.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin expressed the opinion in December 2019 that if Kiev gains control over the border in Donbass without providing guarantees of protection to residents, nationalists can arrange a second Srebrenica there.
Later, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov expressed confidence that “all civilized countries of the world, European states, in the event of a repetition of Srebrenitsa in southeastern Ukraine, will in every possible way oppose this in order to prevent a catastrophe, to avoid mass death, mass murder of people. ".
He explained that the Russian side draws a parallel between the situation in Donbass and the conflict in Yugoslavia in the 1990s on the basis of the dominance of nationalist sentiments of various units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, whose actions are uncontrollable.