The Defence Ministry believes that Russia could use negotiations to strengthen its position

KATERINA TISHCHENKO - SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2022, 18:18

Deputy Defence Minister Anna Malyar believes that Russia can use negotiations and reduction of the intensity of hostilities in order to strengthen its position in the face of new attacks.

Source: Anna Malyar, on the Ukrainian joint news broadcast telethon

Quote: "Of course, they use absolutely everything, any excuse to strengthen their positions and move on. They really do not abandon their key goal – full control over Ukraine.

Indeed, just like in 2014-15 – and throughout all of the last 8 years – they used the negotiations as an additional tool of political influence and to blackmail our side. The fact that this may happen now – no one rules it out."

Details: According to Malyar, Russian troops are trying to adapt to the Ukrainian way of fighting and the peculiarities of the Ukrainian army, which initially came as a surprise.

"This time, what we perceive as a supposed reduction in the intensity of fighting and a slowdown of enemy advancement is actually them strengthening themselves by understanding and adapting to us. They are trying to find our weakest places and take advantage of them. Thus, in this situation, we are confident in our victory, but we must be clearly aware of the complexity of this struggle," said the Deputy Minister of Defence.

She called the capture of Kyiv one of the key goals of the enemy, which they are not abandoning. She cited another goal as full control over Ukraine.

Commenting on the information that the Russian army is allegedly running out of resources for the war with Ukraine, Malyar stressed that the enemy's capabilities should not be underestimated.

"The fact that the war exhausts our enemy is absolutely true… But the capabilities of the enemy should not be underestimated either. And it is perhaps incorrect from the point of view of the country’s defence to say that in a few days the enemy’s resources will be depleted… we must also be aware that the resources they have now could last a while," said Malyar. 

In the same way, according to her, the danger from Belarus should not be underestimated.

"The Belarusian army is psychologically in a difficult situation, they have demoralising moments, they are not ready to carry out these orders. But the danger from Belarus should not be underestimated, because first of all the Russian Federation is behind it all, and it uses all this and controls proceedings there. Be aware and be ready for everything, "she said.