Poland trying to occupy W Ukraine on pretext of forming joint military unit: Russia
Russia says Poland is trying to ultimately occupy western Ukraine under the pretext of establishing a joint military unit with the ex-Soviet republic, accusing Warsaw of turning into a main tool for the United States' anti-Russian policy.
In remarks on Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Poland, a staunch ally of Ukraine in its war with Russia, is planning to form a joint Polish-Ukrainian military unit apparently for security, but with the concealed motive of occupying western Ukraine.
"There are plans to create on a regular basis a so-called Polish-Ukrainian compound, ostensibly to ensure the security of western Ukraine, and in fact - for the subsequent occupation of this territory," he warned during a meeting of the board of the Russian defense ministry.
Shoigu stressed that Warsaw had become what he called the main instrument of Washington's anti-Russian policy.
Russia's defense chief added that Poland had said it wanted to achieve its declared goal of building "the most powerful army" in Europe and to achieve this end, it started large-scale arms purchases from the US, the United Kingdom and South Korea.
Shoigu also warned that "in the western and northwestern strategic directions, the threats to the military security of Russia have increased manifold", adding that Moscow considers Finland's accession into the US-led NATO military alliance and Sweden's in the future as a serious destabilizing factor.
The Russian minister also said that NATO forces and strike weapons capable of hitting critical targets deep in the northwestern regions of Russia might be deployed in Finland.
"Additional military contingents and strike weapons of NATO capable of hitting critical targets in northwestern Russia to a considerable depth may be deployed on the Finnish territory," Shoigu said.
The Kremlin says the West and NATO are playing a direct role in the Ukraine conflict by pouring advanced weapons and military equipment into the country, warning that NATO weapons are "legitimate targets" for its armed forces.
Moscow has frequently warned that continued supply of Western arms and military equipment to the Ukrainian military would only prolong the war and add to the suffering of Ukrainian people.
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