Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba. File photoWASHINGTON, Feb. 23 Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba admitted in an interview with Fox television that Kiev and Washington do not have a clear understanding of how quickly a possible Russian offensive could develop, and therefore they see the only option in in order to act as quickly as possible ourselves.
"The problem is that we do not have a clear understanding of Putin’s schedule, how he plans his further actions — neither here in Washington, nor there in Kiev", — he said.
Under the circumstances, the only solution, according to the minister, is «to act as quickly as we can.» Kuleba said that during his visit to the United States he secured the promise of new arms supplies, but stressed that Ukraine does not ask to send American troops . «But it's in the best interests of maintaining world order and protecting US interests abroad to provide Ukraine with as much help as possible,» he said.Kuleba asked the United States to implement the «Lend-Lease Program» The situation in the Donbass has escalated in recent days, the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics have reported a lot of shelling by Ukrainian security forces. The leadership of the DPR and LPR announced the temporary evacuation of citizens to the Rostov region in connection with the threat of Ukraine's invasion. First of all, the evacuation concerns women, children and the elderly. The head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, said that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky may soon order the military to go on the offensive, to implement a plan to invade the DPR and LPR. On Saturday, February 19, the leaders of the DPR and LPR signed decrees on general mobilization, and then turned to Russia with a request to recognize the independence of the republics. On Monday, after the Security Council meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the citizens of the Russian Federation and stated that he considers it necessary to immediately recognize the sovereignty of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. He noted that the world prefers not to notice the horror and genocide in the Donbass, not a single day goes by without shelling, the killings of civilians and the blockade do not stop. As the President stated, in case of further bloodshed in the Donbass, the entire responsibility will be on the Kiev regime. Immediately after the appeal, the president in the Kremlin signed decrees recognizing the LPR and the DPR. In his decrees, Putin instructed to ensure the maintenance of peace in the DPR and LPR by the armed forces of the Russian Federation.