Russia could not conquer us quickly, so they set up to do it in the long run

The Russian army could not defeat Ukraine at once, so it decided to wage a "long war," Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar said.

"The Russian troops are not going to stop the war, and you can see that in the tactics and strategy they are using. They couldn't conquer us quickly, so they set out to do it for a long time. And just because they have now stepped up in eastern Ukraine doesn't mean that the east will be enough for them," Maliar said on Thursday's telethon.

According to her, the Russian Federation has "far-sighted plans," the essence of which is to try to gain control over all of Ukraine.

At the same time, the deputy head of the Ministry of Defense clarified that Russia is trying to seize Ukraine in order to further use the Ukrainian territory as a springboard for war with other European states.

"Pay attention, they are using the territory of Belarus to wage war with us. There are certain signs that they are preparing certain actions in the so-called unrecognized Transnistrian republic. This is their style, they use other people's territories," Maliar stressed.