Systematic preparations for full-scale war began during Putin's rule - Ukrainian MP Viatrovych

He expressed this opinion in the Verdict with Serhiy Rudenko program on the Espreso TV channel.

"History gave us a chance - 30 years of Russia's weakness, which gave us the opportunity to prepare for this war. Unfortunately, this war was inevitable. We could have prepared for the war better. For many people, the beginning of the war was a shock. The entire history of Ukraine shows that it was impossible to avoid war with Russia. Our trouble is that we took advantage of Russia's weakness and thought that it would be permanent," Viatrovych emphasized. 

According to the MP, Russia quickly recovered after the fall of the USSR, and since the early 2000s, Russia has already begun preparing for war.

"Systematic preparations for a full-scale war began during Putin's rule. Putin himself initiated it. Putin is part of the system of so-called ‘siloviki’, which unites the FSB and post-Soviet KGB staff. In the early 2000s, Russia began to capitalize on its natural resources and put ambitious pressure on the world, claiming that Ukraine should remain in Russia's sphere of influence. But Ukrainians have twice thwarted Russia's attempts to consolidate its influence," Viatrovych emphasized. 

• Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost more than 162.5 thousand soldiers, 305 aircraft, 2145 UAVs and 3504 tanks in the war in Ukraine.