Russian soldiers armed with modern weapons are fighting in eastern Ukraine, second President of Ukraine (1994-2005) Leonid Kuchma has said.
“I think today no one in the world doubts that professional Russian soldiers are fighting there, in Donbas, that shots are fired there moreover with the most modern weapons. If Ukrainians are fighting with weapons of the 20th century, weapons of the 21st century are already in Donbas territory, and it’s absolutely clear that they are Russia’s,” Kuchma said in an interview with Radio Svoboda.
“And as for the Russia’s adopted rule that they are not fighting there and that it’s a solely civil conflict – if it were a solely civil conflict within Ukraine, it would have ended long ago, in August 2014,” he said.
Kuchma said that the battle of Ilovaisk proved the presence of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine to the world. “In August 2014, Russia showed the whole world that it directly participates in the conflict, and we unfortunately remember how it ended. I’m speaking of Ilovaisk battle, during which a lot of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians died. Today, no one in the world doubts nor discusses whether there are Russians [in Donbas] or not,” Kuchma noted.
Kuchma represents Ukraine in the trilateral contact group for settling the conflict in Donbas.
