OREANDA-NEWS. Oleksiy Taran, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that Russia is preparing for a “large-scale military aggression” against Kiev.

The officer noted that Ukrainian army is preparing to repel aggression across all the country’s border. According to him, the offensive could threaten not only on the contact line in the Donbass, but also on “the borders with Belorussia and… near the Crimea and Bessarabia (Moldavia. – Ed.).” Taran said that the plans for preparing Russia for the military operation are “quite obvious,” but did not give any evidence of the Russian threat.

“Nowadays we have a sufficient number of trained control bodies that are capable of commanding troops in these important areas,” said the representative of the General Staff.

He also noted that Ukraine, starting in 2014, has been increasing the ability of military units to “repulse full-scale armed aggression” from Russia. “The result can be seen on the map: the contact line is stabilized, further aggressor advancement deep into the territory is impossible,” Taran stated. The officer recalled that in 2014 Ukraine had only four battalion-tactical groups, which at that time were more or less ready to carry out military tasks. According to him, now almost the entire war strength of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is ready to carry out operational missions. “We can compare the situation in 2014 and now: five tactical groups then; and 17 combat brigades in the ground forces, five in the air assault forces and two full-fledged brigades of marines nowadays," Taran said.