Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Heletei has declared that Russia has lost the "hybrid war" against Ukraine, but Ukrainians still need to build a strong defense against Russia.
“Russia has lost the hybrid war to Ukraine. Our armed forces were confidently putting pressure on the gangs of Russian mercenaries, destroying saboteurs and commandos. This is why the Kremlin has been forced to switch to a full-scale invasion of Donbas using their regular troops. Today, we are dealing with divisions and regiments. Tomorrow, these may be corps,” the defense minister wrote on his Facebook page on Monday, Sept. 1.
According to him, the operation to liberate the east of Ukraine “from terrorists” is over. “We need to urgently build defense against Russia, which is trying not only to gain a foothold in the areas previously occupied by terrorists, but also to advance into other areas of Ukraine,” Heletei said.
He said that into Ukraine “a great war has come, the like of which Europe has not seen since World War II,” and expressed the view that the losses would be counted not by hundreds, but by thousands, even tens of thousands. In addition, the minister said that according to unofficial sources Russia had repeatedly threatened that “if the resistance continues they are prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons against us.”
