The former president of Ukraine, the head of the Kiev delegation to the contact group on Donbass, Leonid Kravchuk, said that he was ready to personally defend the country from Russia if necessary.
“If you decide, I appeal to the Russians, to force Ukraine to act in a different way, with the help of force, then keep in mind that today the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian people, every person who lives in Ukraine and feels like a patriot and defender of the Ukrainian land will stand on protecting your land. And for the time being, I personally will have the opportunity to hold a weapon in my hands, I will take it and will defend my land, ”Kravchuk said on the air of the Ukrainian“ Channel 4 ”.
Earlier on the same day, Kravchuk announced that a possible meeting on bilateral issues between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky could only take place in a neutral country, proposing Finland or Switzerland for negotiations.
Relations between Moscow and Kiev deteriorated in 2014 after the return of Crimea to Russia and against the background of the situation in Donbass. The Ukrainian authorities have previously repeatedly accused Russia of interfering in the country’s internal affairs.
Russia denies the accusations of the Ukrainian side and calls them unacceptable. Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict and is interested in Kiev overcoming the political and economic crisis.