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Moscow condemns Ukrainian defence minister’s provocative statements

Valery Geletei said losses in what he called “a great patriotic war” would amount to “tens of thousands”
Valery Geletei ITAR-TASS
Valery Geletei
© ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, September 01, /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned Ukrainian Defence Minister Valery Geletei’s provocative statement that Kiev had concluded the operation to liberate the east of Ukraine from “terrorists” and was beginning a patriotic war.

Geletei said losses in what he called “a great patriotic war” would amount to “tens of thousands”.

“It’s hard to believe that such statements can be made by the defence minister of a civilised state. Otherwise, one can hardly understand how tens of thousands of Ukrainian families could entrust to this official the lives of their children, brothers and husbands called up into the Ukrainian army for a fratricidal war in their own country,” the ministry said.

By making such statements Geletei “is drawing the Ukrainian people into further bloody civil confrontation. Europe probably has never before seen such blasphemous attempts to cover up one’s desire to retain the current position,” the ministry said.

“The adequacy of the Ukrainian defence minister who published this post on his Facebook page is a subject of examination by specialists from a non-military field,” it said.