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Ukraine’s ex-PM says Kiev regime relies on volunteer battalions

Mykola Azarov noted that existence of voluntary battalions is impermissible in a European country and called for soonest disarmament of those battalions

© TASS/Maxim Pab

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. Current Ukrainian authorities are heavily relying on "volunteer battalions" that "are ready to shoot at anybody," Ukraine’s former prime minister Mykola Azarov told a press conference in Moscow on Monday.

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"What do the current [Ukrainian] authorities rely on? On the army? Not quite, I know them all really well. Now they stand at attention… But as soon as this regime falters, they will destroy this regime themselves. It [the regime] relies only on volunteer battalions," Azarov said.

He also noted that existence of volunteer battalions is impermissible in a European country and called for soonest disarmament of those battalions. "If you want to carry arms - go to army, to police, to SBU [Security Service]," Azarov stressed.

The former prime minister also expressed confidence that all participants of volunteer battalions who committed crimes should be "severely punished."

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