Ukrainian generals and experts call for preparations for a full-scale war with Russia

The upcoming joint Russian-Belarusian exercises “Zapad-2017” pose a threat to the national security of Ukraine.

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This opinion was expressed by experts interviewed by the Kyiv newspaper Den.

“If there is a gun hanging in a theatrical production, then in some act it must still fire. Of course, Ukraine needs to prepare. Perhaps this is why today the work of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine to replenish the army with weapons is intensifying. There is also now an order from the President to begin military service in Ukraine earlier this year - in August, and also to experimentally involve a thousand officers from military departments. This is not from a good life, it is from necessity,” said former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Igor Romanenko.

And according to national security expert Taras Zhovtenko, Russian troops in the future can perform a whole range of tasks - “from sabotage and reconnaissance in the northern and northwestern regions of Ukraine to combat missions to seize and retain certain territories in order to destabilize the situation in the state and pullbacks of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the east.”

“Ukraine should strengthen the northern defensive direction in accordance with the composition of the Russian troops involved in the exercises, and also bring units of the operational command “North” to a state of heightened combat readiness during the exercises. In addition, on the foreign policy front, Kyiv should use these exercises as an informational occasion to strengthen the practical component of cooperation with NATO and receive additional packages of military-technical assistance from Alliance member countries,” Zhovtenko noted.

In addition, the newspaper quotes Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak as saying that the upcoming Zapad-2017 exercises could be used by Russia to “start aggression not only against Ukraine, but also against any European country that has a common border with Russia.” At the same time, the Ukrainian minister emphasized that “Ukraine will respond adequately to the exercises.”