Yuri Grymchak says Russia may eventually announce a “takeover” of territories outside Kiev’s control
Ukrainian politician Yuri Grymchak told the Ukrainian TV channel Obozrevatel on Monday that the country’s authorities should prepare the army for the option of forcibly occupying the part of Donbass not under Kiev’s control.
“In the short term, our country should prepare for the fact that we will have to liberate this territory in one way or another”, – Obozrevatel quotes Grymchak, who previously served as deputy minister for non-controlled territories and internally displaced persons. – “I would like it to happen in a political and diplomatic way, but the army should be prepared for the possible use of weapons to liberate its territory. As far as I understand, this is happening now”, – the politician added, referring to the non-controlled part of Donbass.
Hrymchak claims that, in his opinion, Russia may eventually announce a “takeover” of the non-controlled territories of Donbass.
Yuriy Hrymchak was deputy head of the Donetsk regional administration in 2005-2006 and a member of the Verkhovna Rada in 2007-2012. Grymchak served as deputy minister for the temporarily uncontrolled territories of Ukraine since March 2017. In August 2019, Grymchak was detained by detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), he was charged with fraud. According to the investigation, the politician promised an interested party for a bribe of $1.1 million to influence officials and judges to make necessary decisions. Subsequently, he was released under house arrest, which was then also cancelled, the investigation continues.