Kyiv: Ukraine is preparing for the worst-case scenario in the Donbas
There is a fairly high probability that Russia will strike Ukraine due to recent events in Syria, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar told Ukrinform news agency.
"Nobody can say with absolute certainty what Russia’s reactions will be to the actions of the Western allies in Syria since no one knows what is in Mr. Putin's head. But we must prepare for the worst. Last week [April 13], my Slovak colleague [Slovakian Foreign Ministry Secretary Lukáš Parízek] and I were in the east, and we saw that our military was preparing for defensive actions and for the worst-case scenario," Bodnar said.
He said that Ukrainian diplomats are now working to shift the focus of the world’s attention from the events in Syria to Ukraine in the sense that another strike by Russia is also possible in the Donbas, which will have to be fended off by the whole world.
"Ukraine will deflect it physically, and the entire civilized West will do it politically and organize world opposition against the aggressor," the Deputy Minister said.
On the night of April 14, the United States, United Kingdom and France conducted air strikes against Syria in response to a chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma.