Russian Defense Ministry denies Poroshenko's claims of 11,000 Russian troops in Donbas
MOSCOW. May 15 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Defense Ministry has denied claims made by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that 11,000 Russian Armed Forces servicemen are present in Ukraine's south-eastern regions.
"It is possible to deceive a small number of people for a long period of time and it is possible to deceive a large number of people for a short period of time. But it is impossible to deceive all people indefinitely," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Friday.
"Ukrainian representatives of all ranks traditionally intensify their juggling of figures concerning the allegedly 'Russian military presence' in Donbas ahead of major international events," Konashenkov said.
"This time it was caused by the NATO summit [foreign ministers' meeting] in Turkey's Antalya, which did not produce any results for Ukraine," the Russian general said.
Poroshenko told the German television station ZDF on Thursday that approximately 11,000 Russian troops were present in the territory of Ukraine.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly denied reports alleging a Russian Armed Forces presence in Ukraine.
During a Q&A live broadcast on April 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that there were no Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
