KIEV, May 24. /TASS/. Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Ruslan Khomchak, appointed by President Vladimir Zelensky two days ago, does not expect Russia to take aggressive actions in the near future, as he himself said in an interview with the UNIAN news agency.

"The threat is still there," Khomchak said. "There is always a threat of direct invasion. However, I think there will be no direct invasion tomorrow because every invasion must have a goal. If there is no goal, no leader will wage a war just to kill people. Everything is done with a purpose," he added.

When speaking about the situation in Donbass, the new chief of the general staff noted that tensions remained there so the Ukrainian Armed Forces "must maintain their combat capabilities and be ready for any developments."

Khomchak pointed out that "Ukraine is confronting Russia" in Donbass though, in his words, "units consisting of local residents have been formed there." However, he believes that "it is Russia that commands them."

Russia has repeatedly emphasized that it is not a party to the Donbass conflict and all accusations about the deployment of Russian troops to the region are nothing but a propaganda story.

Nevertheless, the Kiev authorities continue to accuse Russia of planning a direct military invasion in Ukraine. In particular, former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko declared martial law in the country’s border regions in November 2018, citing the detention of Ukrainian naval ships in the Kerch Strait as an excuse.