Russia has said it is ready to use its armed forces abroad to "protect its citizens" in the event of an attack on them. However, they say that Russia allegedly does not intend to initiate a military operation against Ukraine.
This was stated by Konstantin Kosachev, vice speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing his interview with Interfax.
According to him, Russia allegedly has no plans "of its own free will" to carry out a military operation against Ukraine. At the same time, he noted how the situation around Donbas is being inflamed, "how Ukraine is being pushed to try to solve the problems of the Southeast by military means."
"After the Tskhinvali tragedy occurred, in November 2009 Russia made serious amendments to the current federal law "On Defense." The tenth article of this law gives the Russian Armed Forces the opportunity to quickly use the Russian Armed Forces abroad," Kosachev noted.
According to him, one of the grounds on which the Russian Armed Forces can be used operatively abroad is "the protection of Russian citizens outside its territory in case of an armed attack on them."
We shall remind you that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba explained why Russian President Vladimir Putin was dragging troops to Ukrainian borders.
