MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/. Western countries are actively seeking to shape Russia’s image as a blatant aggressor against Ukraine, Chief of Russian General Staff General Valery Gerasimov said at a meeting with military attaches of several countries on Wednesday.
“Poorly made computer graphical fakes posted in the Internet and social networks seek to produce irrefutable evidence of active involvement of Russian troops in a domestic civil war in Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” he said.
“Before our today’s meeting, we have specifically calculated how much Russian troops should allegedly stay in (Ukrainian industrial area) Donbass, proceeding from such provocative statements,” the chief of the General Staff added. “According to most moderate estimates, there are more than 8,500 tanks and armored vehicles, around 1,200 artillery guns and about 1,900 multiple launch rocket systems” allegedly staying there, he noted, adding that “the total area of Luhansk and Donetsk regions in Ukraine is approximately equal to the Moscow Region.”
“All those present here today are professional servicemen. Therefore, I hope you understand perfectly well that it is impossible even in theory to hide such a huge multi-service army grouping on a relatively little area where journalists and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) officials are working freely. Meanwhile, it should be taken into account that this territory is under constant surveillance of space intelligence and control systems of Western countries,” the general noted.
West meddles into internal affairs of other countries
General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces is gravely concerned by the zeal of leaders of major Western countries to overthrow the legitimate governments by every means coming their way, Gerasimov said.
He recalled a number of significant changes that had taken place in the international arena earlier this year, saying they were linked in the first place to changes in the military and political situation in Ukraine, the Middle East and North Africa.
Attempts to meddle into internal affairs of sovereign nations in the format of what is known as “color revolutions” continued during the year.
“Publicly expressed interestedness and immediate involvement of political leaderships of Western nations in the overthrows of legitimate governments by whatever means coming their way can’t but cause serious concern,” Gerasimov said. “It’s all the more so when military strength is used to enhance the destructive processes, the way it was done in Yugoslavia and Libya and is being done right now in Syria,” he said.