According to him, up to 420,000 Ukrainians have already received combat experience in the fight against Russian-backed militants in eastern Ukraine.Danilov about a possible invasion of the Russian Federation / photo from UNIAN

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said that Ukraine has the ability to mobilize up to 2.5 million people in the event of a full-scale Russian invasion .

He announced this in an interview with the  Associated Press .

“They ( the Russian army – UNIAN ) will face the response of our society, our citizens, our military. We can put on alert from 2 to 2.5 million people,” the NSDC secretary said.

Up to 420,000 Ukrainians have gained combat experience fighting Russian-backed militants in eastern Ukraine, and up to one million people in the country hold hunting licenses, he said.

Danilov noted that about 120,000 Russian troops are concentrated near the border of Ukraine, and Moscow can arrange provocations “at any moment.” At the same time, as the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council noted, in order to launch a full-fledged invasion, large-scale preparations will be needed, which will be easy to notice.

“The preparatory period, which the whole world will notice, can last from three to seven days,” Danilov said. “We don’t see it yet. We clearly understand what is happening, and we are calmly preparing for it.”

Possible Russian invasion of Ukraine

The Washington Post in the fall, referring to statements by its anonymous sources, wrote that  Russia had resumed its military buildup  on the border with Ukraine. Videos began to appear on social networks with echelons of military equipment, in particular tanks and missiles, which are being transported to the southern and western regions of Russia. 

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine then  denied the information disseminated by the publication  about Russia’s buildup of military forces near the Ukrainian border. 

Later,  Politico published fresh satellite photos that confirm reports that Russia is once again concentrating troops and military equipment on the border with Ukraine.

Subsequently, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine,  Kirill Budanov, said that Russia had concentrated 92,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and was preparing for an invasion in late January – early February 2022. Recently, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba said that Russia has deployed  115,000 troops near the borders of Ukraine .

According to the  Financial Times , Western intelligence suggests a “high probability” of destabilization of Ukraine by Russia this winter.

Moscow denies accusations of preparing an attack on Ukraine and, on the contrary, points to the activation of NATO forces near the Russian borders.

(C)UNIAN 2022