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Petro Poroshenko delivered his belligerent speech in the Kharkov region, rejecting criticism of the ceasefire deal with rebel forces in the east, brokered in Minsk by Germany, France and Russia in February.
“The Minsk agreement despite all criticism has given us time to build up Ukraine’s defense. It allowed us to partially bridge the gap in military capacity we have against Russia,” Ukraine’s leader said. “The times of airheaded pacifism and shortsighted rejection of security issues are forever in the past now.”
Kiev accuses Russia of secretly invading Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions and supplying the rebel forces with advanced weapons. It claims its military crackdown on the rebels is actually an undeclared war against Russia and that only the Ukrainian army is standing as a bulwark against a Russian invasion of Europe.
Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying that those Russian citizens fighting for the rebels are doing it of their own volition, and that Russia has never sent any weapons to the rebels.
In his speech, Poroshenko said Ukrainians should prepare for years of war effort.
“The military threat from the east is a prospect for decades to come. This threat will not pass anytime soon and every new generation has to have army training,” Poroshenko claimed, adding that the ongoing wave of mobilization, the sixth since military action in the east started, would not be the last.
The Ukrainian president pledged that hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, thousands of rockets and artillery shells would be delivered to the Ukrainian armed forces before the year’s end. He added that foreign sponsors have been assisting Kiev’s fight.
“As part of the international aid in the framework of our coordination with an international coalition, created by the Ukrainian state and Ukrainian diplomacy to support Ukraine, we have received some 500 vehicles from our foreign partners,” he said.
From 9,000 to 200,000: Poroshenko’s displays numeracy problem in counting ‘Russian invaders’ http://t.co/WnPvrqqsqF pic.twitter.com/L6heRymViA
— RT America (@RT_America) June 30, 2015
Poroshenko vows to fight ’till the last drop of blood’ despite Minsk ceasefire https://t.co/URM6i3VTr2 #Ukraine
— IN THE NOW (@INTHENOWRT) May 14, 2015
The crisis in Ukraine is to be discussed on Monday by Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Berlin, where the Ukrainian president is going, cutting short Independence Day celebrations in Kiev.
RT work reprinted with permission.