General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces warns of possible Russian three-pronged attack
Russia is completing the formation of strike formations on the border with Ukraine for a possible invasion, and is also preparing a number of sabotage operations at the front and in rear, head of the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces Viktor Muzhenko has said.
"In the current geopolitical realities, we predict military threats from three of four directions: from the north, east and south. Russia is completing the formation of strike formations on the border of Ukraine. They, together with special forces units, will form the basis of an invasion force," Muzhenko said in Kyiv on Wednesday at a meeting with representatives of the military diplomatic corps accredited in Ukraine.
Muzhenko said Ukraine's Armed Forces "have the soldiers and equipment to stop Russian tanks and airplanes." He added that there could be acts of sabotage on the contact line during the period before Ukraine's presidential elections.
"The period of the so-called pre-election turbulence, which our country has entered, is used by the Russian Federation to conduct special operations to undermine the defense potential of Ukraine. We are tracking a significant activation of the enemy in the information space. Using a series of information and psychological operations, Russia is trying to influence personnel. Also, in parallel with this, we do not exclude the possibility that the enemy will carry out a number of acts of direct action in the form of sabotage near the front line and deep in the rear," Muzhenko said.
At the same time, he noted that the Ukrainian military are taking the necessary steps to prevent such scenarios.
"Subject to the fulfillment of the state defense order in 2019, we will double the composition of new equipment in comparison with previous years. This is primarily about updating and adopting anti-missile defense complexes and modernized missiles for them, and equipping ground forces with domestic anti-tank complexes – assault troops and marines," he said.
Muzhenko said that he would also increase the number of armored vehicles and renew the military's truck fleet and increase in the number of domestic unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in reconnaissance and artillery units. He also said the military would beef up radar and radio reconnaissance units of Ukraine's Air Force of Ukraine and refurbish ships in Ukraine's Naval Forces.