29 November 2021, Monday, 18:08 354

Kuleba Believes That Decision To Invade Ukraine Lies In Kremlin "On Table"

Даша Зубкова

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba believes that the decision to invade Ukraine lies in the Kremlin "on the table."

He announced this in an interview with the Latvian news portal Delfi, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

“Of course, Russia is considering the invasion as one of the alternatives. There is no evidence that the decision to implement it has already been made in Moscow, but this option is “on their table,” Kuleba said.

The minister stressed that it is not enough to take into account only the situation at the border in order to understand the logic of what is happening.

“First, we see a powerful Russian military presence along the Ukrainian border. We do not yet see them form strike groups, but there are a large number of Russian soldiers on the border, in the occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea, and a lot of military equipment that is not intended for defense. For example, among the equipment we see missile systems and equipment for blocking radio communications," Kuleba said.

According to the minister, the second element is the approach that Russia is demonstrating in the diplomatic sphere, within the framework of the Normandy Format and the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), since the TCG is blocked, and the Normandy Format is not yet functioning normally due to the fact that Russia refuses to conduct its summit or ministerial meeting.

According to the minister, the third factor is how Russia treats the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, since the observers do not have free access to the entire territory not controlled by Kyiv, their work is being hindered.

Kuleba also recalled the situation in Belarus and the gas crisis.

"All these components should be considered comprehensively. When everything is put together, the situation looks very gloomy," Kuleba stressed.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg calls on Russia to reduce tensions on the border with Ukraine and warns that in case of further aggression, there will be serious consequences.

90,000 Russian troops are concentrated in the occupied territories and on the border between Ukraine and Russia.

According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, 2,100 Russian military are fighting in ORDLO.