According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia's invasion of Ukraine may begin in areas where "historically there are people who previously had family ties with Russia."
" - for example, Kharkiv. He said this in an interview with The Washington Post.
"Kharkiv, which is under the control of the Ukrainian authorities, may be occupied. Russia needs an excuse: it will say that they are protecting the Russian-speaking population. After the occupation and annexation of Crimea, we believe this is likely to happen," Zelensky said.
The President added that Russia's seizure of major cities in Ukraine would not be just an occupation - "it will be the beginning of a large-scale war."
"If we defend ourselves against one of the most powerful armies in the world, there will be a war. And if there is a war, it will be powerful, and everyone will lose. Hundreds of thousands will die. Ukraine will suffer, Russia will suffer, Ukraine's European neighbours will suffer. Will face a migration crisis, "Zelensky said.
He added that, in his opinion, "everyone (Ukrainian - ed.) Will defend our country" - even those who had a positive attitude towards Russia after the occupation of Crimea and Donbas.
To notice that, in a video address on January 19, Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukrainians not to panic about possible Russian aggression spreading through the media. "All this rhetoric in official political statements in the media news, in rumours at the entrance, is united by one thing, one logical question: what, exactly, is the news? Hasn't this been a reality for eight years?", The politician said...
Read also: If at least one Russian military crosses the border of Ukraine, it will be .considered an invasion - Blinken.
Live map of conflict in Ukraine - interactive map in format of Reds-vs-Blues conflict in Ukraine
What is known
In early November 2021, the American media reported the accumulation of Russian equipment on the border with Ukraine. Still, then the Ministry of Defense and the National Security and Defense Council denied this information. On November 21, the head of Ukrainian intelligence said that Russia had concentrated more than 92,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and was preparing for an attack by late January-early February 2022.
Russia has begun moving troops to Belarus for joint military exercises. The training is scheduled for February 10-20. But, as journalists found out, only part of the Russian military equipment is moving to the training grounds - the rest stopped near Gomel, in an area 40 kilometres from the Chernihiv region and 200 kilometres to the capital.
Since the beginning of November 2021, when there was information about the possibility of a full-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, several media outlets have suggested the possibility of an attack, including from the territory of Belarus. In late November, Lukashenko said that in the event of a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Belarus would be on Russia's side.
On January 19, US President Joe Biden said that the invasion of Ukraine would be a catastrophe for Russia, which would lead to significant human and economic losses. At the same time, Zelensky, in response to Biden's statement about different options for the West's response, depending on Russia's degree of aggression, said there were no "minor incursions" or "minor losses . "
Zelensky’s spokesman says: It was just an example, a hypothetical scenario, i.e. he did not mean that Kharkiv would be occupied.”
