State Border Guard Service of Ukraine: Russia has begun a new stage of the hybrid war in Crimea
The head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Viktor Nazarenko, stated in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine that the next stage of hybrid war between Russia and Ukraine has begun in the Crimea. According to him, provocative actions from Russia have the specific objective of increasing the level of confrontation in the territory. Nazarenko admitted that reserves from the Ukrainian Army, including heavy weapons, were deployed to the annexed Crimea.
The head of the State Border Guard Service reported on the use of weapons by Russian servicemen against Ukrainian citizens, who have come to the Crimea by car, and also four cases of violations of Ukrainian airspace by Russian military drones. At the same time, Nazarenko denied the information about shots fired by Ukrainian servicemen in the direction of the peninsula.
“We would have it documented. We are responsible for this,” Nazarenko stressed.
This week, relations between Ukraine and Russia deteriorated further after the FSB accused the Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence of attempting to organize terrorist acts in the Crimea. The Ministry of Defense, the Main Directorate of Intelligence, National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine denied these accusations. On August 11, the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, ordered all divisions in administrative areas bordering the Crimea and along the whole contact line to be placed on high alert.