Ukrainian official sees growing threat of Russian invasion

The threat of invasion by Russian troops in Ukraine has increased when compared to the situation before the negotiations in Geneva, said the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Andriy Senchenko on Channel 5, April 24, reports Ukrainska Pravda. "I think the degree of the threat has definitely increased. The fact remains that the number one assignment for Putin is to destroy the process of stabilization in Ukraine and destroy the presidential elections. That is obvious," he said. "These separatist who, strictly speaking, prevent the country and especially the Donbas from living in peace are Putin's only instrument. They are his tool for destabilizing the political situation in Ukraine for a long time," Senchenko said. "We were criticized for the sluggish start of our anti-terrorist operation. But the beginning was dedicated to dissecting this protest. And we were able to determine who were the peaceful people in the Donbas who were protesting against poverty, corruption and injustice. We were able to separate this segment from the protests. As a government, we extended our hand and said we are partners in building a new Ukraine," he explained. "The remaining people are those who came there for money from the Yanukovych circle, those who want to retain total control over the Donbas and its resources and who want to maintain the right to exploit 10 million residents of Donbas. We have different dealings with those elements," he added. "We're trying to reach the people who are not tainted by crimes and whose hands are not bloodied. We tell them 'Go. We're ready to amnesty you,' " he said. "When we speak about the Russian presence, we have 25 employees of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Federation in pre-trial detention. Furthermore, there are many people there who have lived in Ukraine for 2-3 years with false documents and under assumed names and who, contrary to existing agreements between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, conducted intelligence and subversive activities in Ukraine," he added. Senchenko also described how a Russian military man named Oleksandr V. Lebedev, a senior sharpshooter born in 1989, was detained in the Kherson Oblast. "A Russian soldier from Crimea apparently got lost in the morning and ended up in the Kherson Oblast. He was detained by our intelligence agencies, interrogated, given food and drink and allowed to return to his base," Senchenko said. Apparently the soldier was unarmed. " We don’t take hostages. We behave like human beings with Russian citizens," he concluded. Source: http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/24/7023549/