Saakashvili Discusses Two Possible Scenarios for Putin's Invasion of Ukraine

The former President of Georgia, ex-Governor of Odesa, and currently head of the Executive Committee for Reforms in Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili, has outlined two scenarios for the Russian army's invasion of Ukrainian territory. The politician shared this information during an interview on the 'Ukraine 24' television channel.

According to him, 'Moscow could develop an invasion scenario similar to the one seen in 2008.' Saakashvili noted that 'the situation created around Ukraine closely resembles the situation we faced around Georgia on the eve of the attack.' He emphasized that 'Moscow is currently concentrating its forces in Crimea, near Ukraine's borders.'

'All those airborne units located in Russia, except for the far eastern ones, have now been relocated to occupied Crimea. This cannot just be a military maneuver, as these are substantial forces, capabilities, and resources,' he declared.

Saakashvili added that 'Russia has two scenarios for invasion: one is conservative, and the other is realistic.' In his view, 'in the first case, Russia seizes Zmiinyi Island in the Black Sea, deploys S-400 air defense systems there, and organizes a naval blockade of Ukraine, preventing ships from entering Odesa and other Ukrainian ports along the Black Sea coast. The second option is to wait until NATO's exercises are completed, then position troops along the Mariupol-Zaporizhzhia-Kherson-Nikolaev line.'

According to Saakashvili, 'The subsequent actions will be planned by Russia based on the success of the attack.' The former President of Georgia emphasized that he 'knows Putin well, and therefore, there are indeed plans for such an invasion of Russia.'