Ukrainian official: Russia is not ready for full-scale military operations
The Ukrainian Deputy Minister for the Temporarily Occupied Territories, George Tuka, stated on Channel 112 Ukraine that Russia is not ready for full-scale military operations with Ukraine.
"Russia is not ready for full-scale military operations, and they have enough common sense not to do it. As for provocative actions, tactical actions with the aim to seize any locality; I suppose it may happen," Tuka said. According to him, servicemen from one of the sides may lose their composure.
"As for the Crimea, my biggest fear that during this military tension one of the sides may lose their composure and there will be a provocation. This can be used as a motive for further actions from the Russians," Tuka believes. He also added that it is necessary to adhere to the Minsk Agreements, which are the only format for negotiations, Tuka stressed.
On 10 August, the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) reported on the prevention of terrorist acts in the Crimea which were allegedly being planned by Ukrainian intelligence. The Russian Office also reported on the deaths of two Russian servicemen. The FSB said that "an officer of the Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine's Defense Ministry," Yevhen Panov, was arrested on charges of organizing terrorist acts.
On the following day, the Russian Foreign Ministry gave reported that another individual, Andriy Zakhity, was arrested on suspicion of planning terrorist acts in the Crimea.
The MP from the People's Front faction, Anton Herashchenko, stated that Ukrainian Andriy Zakhtiy, a recidivist nicknamed ‘bunny’, was detained by the FSB in the Crimea and accused of being a Ukrainian saboteur, has been convicted twice.
The State Security Service of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of Ukraine rejected the Russian accusations of their involvement in "planning terrorist acts in the Crimea." The Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine's Defense Ministry stressed that no Ukrainian intelligence officer has been detained in the Crimea by the FSB.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called Russia’s accusations "cynical and meaningless fantasies."