Half a million Ukrainians ready to defend their country against Russian invasion, says army general
Half a million Ukrainians are ready to take up arms to defend their country from Russian invasion, head of Ukraine’s defensive operation in the Donbas, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, has told UK newspaper The Times.
“We have about half a million people who have been through the war in this country,“ said Pavliuk.
“Half a million who have lost a relative, lost their homes or lost their friends, and they are ready to tear apart Russians with their bare hands.”
Pavliuk said that Russian President Vladimir Putin understands that in the event of an invasion of Ukraine, if his army experiences heavy casualties, it will be unable to continue to advance.
Since the end of Oct. 2021, Russia has been massing troops close to Ukraine’s borders. Russia is now estimated to have deployed more than 127,000 troops and offensive weapons near the Ukrainian border and in the temporarily occupied territories, according to the latest intelligence estimate from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine provided to CNN this week.
International media have speculated that Russia may invade Ukraine in early 2022, in an operation that could involve up to 200,000 Russian soldiers.
The situation on Ukraine's eastern border is a matter of deep concern for both U.S. and European officials. According to U.S. President Joe Biden, the White House is looking at a range of options to dissuade Russia from a potential attack on Ukraine.
Biden has defined these measures as “the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to go ahead and do what people believe he may do.”
On Jan. 14, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that the United States has evidence of Russia planning to conduct various false flag operations in the Donbas.
Corroborated by the Pentagon, Psaki said that Moscow has sent operatives, trained in explosives and urban combat, into eastern Ukraine, to be used to stage false flag operations that could give Putin a pretext to renew his invasion of the country.
While Russia has denied plans to invade, it has also refused to provide assurances that it would not do so, instead demanding that it be given “security guarantees” by the United States and NATO.
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