KIEV, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine needs to create a new military doctrine that would reflect that Russia is an “aggressor-nation,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Wednesday.
“The country needs a new military doctrine with a clear definition of who is an aggressor and who is a threat. Russia should be acknowledged in the new doctrine as an aggressor-nation and is the only one that is a threat to the territorial integrity and national security of Ukraine,” Yatsenyuk said during a government session.
On Tuesday, Russian Security Council deputy head Mikhail Popov said Russia will update its military doctrine by the end of 2014 to reflect new security threats, including the expansion of NATO, US missile shield plans and the political crisis in Ukraine.
A special working group was set up within the framework of the council to introduce amendments to the doctrine, which was last updated in 2010.
Amendments to the doctrine will also touch on Russia’s independence in producing weapons, hardware and other military equipment production.
The European Union and the United States imposed a few waves of economic sanctions on Russia following Crimea’s reunification with the country in March. The West argues that the referendum allowing the peninsula to join Russia was illegal, while Moscow claims it was fully legitimate. The list of sanctions includes restrictions on Russia’s banking and oil sectors and, in particular, an embargo on arms trading.
