Andriy Parubiy, secretary of National Security and Defense Council, praised the resistance of Ukraine’s soldiers and the patriotism of residents of the nation's southeastern regions. He said they have saved the nation from Russian plans to invade parts of Ukraine beyond Crimea.
Russian troops started a military invasion to Crimean peninsula on Feb. 27, and on March 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin received permission from the country’s Federation Council to use military forces on Ukraine’s territory.
Putin said a news conference on March 4 that he received a request from ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, hiding in Russia, to use Russian troops to restore order in Ukraine. But Putin denied that thousands of newly arrived armed men in military fatigues and using Russian military equipment in Crimea were Russian soldiers.
“Putin may say whatever he wants but it is obvious that most of the active operations (in Crimea) have been done by Russian special units and Russian soldiers,” Parubiy told the news conference of March 5. “And they don’t deny this in talks with our soldiers.”
Parubiy said that Putin’s plans on Ukraine weren’t limited by Crimea. He said that recent seizures of local administrations in southeast Ukraine by “pro-Russian” forces, in which Russian newcomers participated, were proof of the Putin plans.
“They were planning to capture southern and eastern regions of Ukraine and then probably the other regions,” Parubiy said. “But as residents of southern and eastern regions in their majority didn’t approve capture of their state meant that blitzkrieg plan failed,” he added.
Parubiy also praised the efforts of Ukraine’s soldiers, who didn’t succeed despite pressure of Russian troops to surrender the weapons. This pressure included promised of higher salaries and even apartments for switching the sides.
Parubiy said that there were less of provocation near the Ukrainian bases last night as before, but the situation in Crimea remains tense “as Russian troops haven’t been withdrawn.” Ukraine’s security forces feared the more provocations, including attacks by Russian disguised as Ukrainian soldiers or Crimean Tatars, he said.
Parubiy thanked the efforts of the United States and Great Britain, the countries guarantors of Ukraine’s security according to international agreements, “but we are asking them to be more active,” he said.
He said he was hoping the situation in Crimea to be resolved by negotiations, but proved there were no official dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow so far. “There were some talks between Ukrainian officials and Russian Federation in the first days (of conflict), but they were rather threats than negotiations,” he said.
Kyiv Post staff writer Oksana Grytsenko can be reached at [email protected]
