Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has not ruled out the possibility of a full-scale Russia’s invasion “in all directions”.
“Ukraine will continue to need strong international support in the fight against Russian aggression,” Poroshenko said at the opening of the September parliament session.
“But securing this support is becoming increasingly difficult for our diplomats due to different objective and subjective factors.”
The conflict in Donbass has killed more than 9,500 people since separatist violence erupted two years ago, and a ceasefire agreement is routinely violated.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia spiked in August after Russia accused Ukraine of planning attacks in Crimea.
As a result, while Poroshenko said that Ukraine is now safer than it was a year ago, he also warned that a full-scale invasion from Russia could not be ruled out.
“Over the course of the next year, political forces could come to power as a result of elections in several European countries that may not be extremist, but are inclined to compromise with the Kremlin,” Poroshenko said.
“Europe still speaks with one voice, but there are also countries where the Russian accent is already too audible.”
In the case of a serious escalation, a martial law and another wave of mobilization can be declared in a combat zone, Poroshenko noted.
According to the President, some 45,000 military have gone to a contract service in the army since the beginning of the year. This allowed not to declare a new mobilization.
Joining NATO remains our strategic objective. This is unchangeable as Pole Star in the sky, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday.