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Ukraine’s territorial defense likely to use viscous resistance tactics — Russian MP

According to Leonid Slutsky, man-portable air defense systems are deployed in dwelling quarters

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. Ukrainian territorial defense units, which have some 400,000 guns, may opt for the viscous resistance tactics, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the Russian State Duma, or lower parliament house, said on Wednesday.

He recalled that Ukraine’s authorities are currently "forming the so-called territorial defense units." "Man-portable air defense systems are deployed in dwelling quarters. They know it perfectly well that we will not attack unarmed people in a bid to destroy such a system that is firing from the heart of a dwelling quarter. That is why they has a possibility to hand put guns and venture the viscous resistance tactics practiced during the Great Patriotic War (the Eastern Front during WWII where the former Soviet Union fought against Nazi Germany - TASS)," he said in an interview with the Solovyov Live YouTube channel.

"It looks like the Kiev regime and its Western puppeteers plan to organize such viscous resistance along with fanning anti-Russian sentiment among the world community," he said. "They won’t succeed. We will save people’s lives and will continue the operation to clear the adjacent territory of lethal weapons threatening our country’s national security - this goal will be attained."

"Militants who are not controlled by anyone, including local authorities must not shoot at civilians or try to "restrict their freedom of using humanitarian corridors," Slutsky stressed. "We understand why it is not easy. The matter is that while forming the so-called territorial defense Ukraine’s authorities have simply handed out more than 400,000 guns, Kalashnikovs and so on to people. And now these guys are not controlled by anyone. They are armed and the situation is not easy," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.

When clarifying the unfolding developments, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.