02 April 2014, 23:08
Oleksandr Turchynov noted that the situation today remains tense. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the Southern, Northern and Eastern borders of Ukraine remain on their places of dislocation. “The situation is stable, however, there is a real threat,” he said.
Answering questions, Oleksandr Turchynov informed on the course of developments in Crimea during the past several months. He noted that Russia’s plan to implement “Caucasian scenario” in Ukraine failed.
He said that this plan laid in provoking Ukrainian military men, as a result of which, civilians would die. It would be extremely dangerous to conduct a heavy-handed military operation in a densely populated Crimea, since it could lead to colossal human losses. That is why, said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainian military men received an order to hold the line in the military units and on the ships.
Oleksandr Turchynov informed also that it was planned to channel military aggression of the Russian Federation in several directions, including in the direction of Kyiv. “We, then, managed to hold positions and we needed time to get ready for defense,” he said.
In this context, Oleksandr Turchynov expressed gratitude to the Ukrainian military in Crimea, due to whom there was held partial mobilization in Ukraine; the “reserves and resources were prepared”; and the defense system along the Ukrainian borders was built. “Today, the Ukrainian army is ready to repel aggressors,” claimed the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, and added that “we now understand how to act in emergency situations.”