19 March 2024, Tuesday, 11:19
Support
the website
Sim Sim,
Charter 97!
Categories

Former General Staff Chief of Ukraine: Putin can attack Kyiv from Belarus

28
Former General Staff Chief of Ukraine: Putin can attack Kyiv from Belarus

Several directions for an offensive are being prepared now.

Colonel general Anatoliy Lopata, a former chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said it in an interview with the website Ukrainian News – From UA.

According to Lopata, Russia is ready to launch a large-scale offensive.

“The number of Russian troops is about 60,000 people and the number of DNR troops is up to 40,000 people. So, they have opportunities to begin a large-scale operation. In my view, the goal is to form a land corridor to Crimea from [Russia's] Rostov Oblast through the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kherson regions to Crimea,” the former General Staff chief explains.

Anatoliy Lopata notes that several directions for the offensive are being prepared and one of them is being chosen as the main direction of the possible attack.

According to the expert, any military operation has a certain goal, but Russia is not ready yet to “grab entire Ukraine” without the use of nuclear weapons.

“The main aim is to form the land corridor to Crimea. Perhaps, Ukraine will be offered to do it peacefully and we will have to give Russia an opportunity to get to Crimea via motorway or one railway track,” the colonel general thinks.

Anatoliy Lopata notes that there has always been a danger of an attack through the Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions.

“The shortest way to Kyiv is through Belarus or the Chernihiv region. Such a threat exists, and we mustn't forget it. I don't think it will be the main strike today. I think the main strike can be in the direction of Mariupol. The West will have to give us weapons,” he said.

He adds that Ukraine could repel Russia's attack using its own forces.

“We should have taken several steps to implement the law on the defence of our country, which hasn't been done. Neither the president, nor the Verkhovna Rada and the government have done anything to prepare the state for repelling aggression. We are in a peaceful state, and this is the greatest threat and mistake for Ukraine's integrity. We should have constructed fortifications long ago, because the problem won't disappear for the next few years,” he said.

Write your comment 28

Follow Charter97.org social media accounts