Kiev’s Foreign Minister Says Ukraine Getting a ‘Deterrence Package’ That Will Prevent Alleged Russian Invasion

Nov. 29, 2021 (EIRNS)—The Kiev regime continued to do its part in whipping up anti-Russian hysteria yesterday, with an interview of the regime’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba published by Die Zeit’s English-language website yesterday. He said that whether the alleged Russian threat “will be turned into real military action depends on two factors: the resilience of Ukraine and the support extended to Ukraine by its partners. Our goal now is to prevent the situation from further deterioration.” He claimed that Russia’s one goal since 2014 has been “the destabilization of Ukraine and other European countries to force them into accepting Russia’s understanding of how international relations should be structured. It’s military aggression combined with disinformation and attempts to trigger domestic instability. There is no need to ask ourselves the question ‘why now?’ When they see an opportunity, they immediately try to grab it.”

Kuleba claimed that the support that Ukraine is getting from the West is much more than words. “We call it a deterrence package, and this deterrence package consists of three elements,” he said.

“The first one is clear political messaging, which is already happening. The second is a set of sanctions or restrictive measures. Russia knows that the West is preparing sanctions, and Moscow will think twice about whether they are ready to pay this price. The third is military support. I categorically reject the idea that arming Ukraine is akin to igniting the conflict. Russia wants Ukraine to remain weak, therefore, those who reject cooperation with us in military and defense are strengthening Russia’s position.”

Kuleba also claimed that the regime has no intention of resolving the Donbas conflict by military force. “Some countries unfortunately lean toward the Russian narrative that Ukraine should not be armed because it allegedly emboldens us or encourages us for some kind of military action. This is all utter nonsense,” he said. “We have not attacked anyone and we do not have any intention of solving the problem in Donbas in a military way.” The residents of Donetsk and other areas along the line of contact who have endured years of shelling by the Ukrainian side might have a different view of things.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated yesterday that Russia has no plans to invade anyone and that the allegations “that it is behaving aggressively are absolutely groundless and wrong,” in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s demand, issued on Nov. 26, that Russian President Vladimir Putin “must say it publicly” that Russia has no plans to attack Ukraine. “Russia has never hatched, is not hatching and will never hatch any plans to attack anyone,” Peskov stressed. “Russia is a peaceful country, which is interested in good relations with its neighbors.”

“We are afraid, and we have already said this, that these allegations might be meant to hide [Ukraine’s] own preparations for a force scenario in Donbas. It would be utter recklessness,” he said. He reported that the anti-Russian hysteria fanned by U.S., British and Ukrainian mass media, and Zelenskyy is inadmissible. “We think that this hysteria, which is being whipped up in the U.S. and British media, in the Ukrainian mass media and is supported by Ukrainian politicians, including the head of state, is absolutely inadmissible,” he said.