Senator Alexey Pushkov commented on his Twitter statement of the commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Rear Admiral Alexey Neizhpapa, about a possible cnfrontation with Russia.
Earlier, Neizhpapa announced preparations for full-scale military actions against Russia, which, according to him, could allegedly attack the Kherson region in order to provide water supply to the Crimea.
Pushkov called Neizhpapa's statement "a rhetorical provocation", noting that the words of the Rear Admiral should not be taken seriously.
"The goal is to maintain a high degree of tension between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine does not have a military fleet. The commander-in-chief only commands old boats. But I want to brag, " the Senator wrote.
For his part, military expert Yuri Knutov doubted the potential of Ukraine for war with Russia and told what threatened Kiev attack on the Crimea.
He called the recent statement of the commander-in-chief of the Navy Alexey Neizhpapa about preparations for a strike on the Peninsula "political bravado". According to the expert, if the Ukrainian navy attacks the Crimea, the Russian army will respond with a blow not only to those who will storm the Peninsula, but also to the bases and headquarters of the enemy.
"The Lviv base and others will be completely destroyed," he said.
The expert recalled that Ukraine had a huge military potential at the time of the collapse of the USSR.
"But all this was sold and stolen. Today, the Ukrainian army does not have such capabilities as in the Soviet period," he told "Vechernyaya Moskva" ("Evening Moscow").
At the same time, the expert stressed that in recent years, the US and NATO had been engaged in the development of the Ukrainian army. They conducted a serious retraining of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"This is not the same army that was in 2014. The Ukrainian army should perform the same role as Afghanistan did for the Soviet Union: create tension, pull resources from the socio-economic sector to defense, " Knutov explained.
He clarified that all this was part of the American "Trojan horse" strategy against Russia, and Kiev's bellicose statements reflected the anti-Russian sentiments of NATO.
He added that offensive weapons were being supplied to Ukraine under the guise of defensive weapons, while Soviet weapons were being decommissioned.
"Weapons are provided not only to the AFU, but also to Nazi detachments designed to clean up the Donbass and Crimea," the expert added.
He said that offensive actions werer constantly being practiced at Ukrainian training grounds, and the AFU was comparable to the Greek army in its power. In addition, American and recently British advisers are constantly working with the local military. Knutov believes that in recent years, the Ukrainian army has become controlled by NATO.
The expert also assessed the statement about the importance of "Neptune" missiles for the Ukrainian army. Knutov stressed that these were several examples.
"I watched the video of Neptune's use on the ship and I can say that it does not have the characteristics that are claimed. We are able to destroy such a missile with our air defense systems, " he said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from RIA Novosti