Oleksandr Turchynov: The Ukrainian Armed Forces are ready to respond to any provocation

We are closely monitoring the concentration of troops directly near our borders within the framework of the Russian-Belarusian military exercise "Zapad-2017", and the Armed Forces of Ukraine are ready to respond to any provocation. This was stated by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov while answering the journalists' questions in the New Petrivtsi village of Vyshgorod district of Kyiv region on Wednesday.

At the same time, he did not exclude that part of the armament and military personnel may stay in the territory of Belarus after the exercise is completed.

According to Mr. Turchynov, "immense resources" are spent on carrying out this Russian-Belarusian exercise, in particular, more than 7 thousand railway platforms for the relocation of troops are involved.

"Certainly, by this exercise, the Russian Federation demonstrates its ability to conduct a large-scale continental war in Europe, and this step, in their opinion, may be a warning to the West that it should not interfere with the new undertakings the Kremlin can provoke both in Ukraine and in the territories of other independent countries in the region", - the NSDC Secretary stated.