ABC: The US embassy in Ukraine is seeking additional security staff to temporarily fill in next month, as the “permanent staff continue Emergency Preparations in case of Authorized or Ordered Departure”
Kyiv: Russia does not have enough troops on Ukrainian borders for a full-scale invasion
Russia continues to move troops near Ukrainian borders and territories of the Donbas which are not under Ukraine’s control, but this is not sufficient. Russia would need to have three to five times more troops for a full-scale invasion, said Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov in an interview with the Current Time.
At the same time, he stressed that the threat of an invasion still exists.
“Of course, there is a constant threat for us. We have been living with this threat for seven years, and it is not news to us that Russian troops are located on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It is they who are waging war against our country,” he said.
Danilov added that the most dangerous areas at present are Mariupol and other places in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The NSDC Secretary also believes that Russia’s main goal was direct negotiations with the United States, and the Kremlin has achieved it.
“We will watch how events will develop now that Russia has given the actual ultimatum to the United States and the NATO countries, ” he said.
Danilov also believes that Putin wants to “reinforce” Russia’s seizure of Crimea, to show that Ukraine has ceased to exist within its current borders.
