Ukrainian State Border Service: Russia does not have sufficient troops in Belarus to attack Ukraine
The troops of the Russian Federation that will be involved in the Zapad 2017 military exercises in Belarus are not enough to invade Ukraine, as stated by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Speaker Oleh Slobodyan on Pryamy TV.
"I do not think that Putin is preparing to open a new front. Even if he is, the forces that they accumulated in Belarus are not sufficient for offensive actions, if we are talking about Ukraine. Although we should not forget about the Baltic countries," he said.
Slobodyan also has noted that Russia will use these exercises to strengthen its positions on the territory of Belarus.
"We have not ruled out that these units will remain there on a rotational basis. And, of course, they will use these exercises in order, perhaps, to test our response to such large-scale events near the northern borders,” said the speaker.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated that the Zapad 2017 military exercises are a threat to Ukraine.