According to the document, which Bloomberg said it had seen, steps by Moscow such as organizing illegitimate elections and issuing passports to locals are “aimed at de facto integration of Ukraine’s non-governmental-controlled areas into Russia.”
The EU document presents options the bloc could take to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience to Russian aggression, Bloomberg reported, including stepping up support in tackling “cyber threats and disinformation" and bolstering energy security to reduce the country's dependence on Russia.
The report comes after a Polish security expert warned at the end of last month that Russia was not changing its hostile policies toward Ukraine and other countries.
The Kremlin "will still be waging war against Ukraine, occupying Ukrainian territory and applying political and military pressure on Kiev, even if Russia pulls back the troops it deployed to Ukraine's border in recent months," Stanisław Żaryn, spokesman for Poland’s security services chief, said in a statement in late April.
Russia in 2014 seized Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and backed a rebellion in the country's east.
Since then, the military conflict has claimed more than 13,000 lives, according to data cited by Bloomberg.
Ukrainian, Russian and international negotiators last year agreed on a full ceasefire between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The Polish and Ukrainian presidents in October last year issued a joint declaration calling for an end to what they said was the illegal occupation of Crimea and to “ongoing aggression” in Donbas.
The declaration also confirmed Poland's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.
(gs/pk)
Source: biznesalert.pl, bloomberg.com