OREANDA-NEWS. The Ukrainian army can "break any invading plans of the enemy", President Vladimir Zelensky said in a statement on the occasion of Ukraine's Armed Forces Day.

"The Ukrainian army during its modern history has gone a difficult way to form a capable and highly organized combat structure, confident in its forces and able to break any aggressive plans of the enemy,"- Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president also thanked the servicemen for their service, fortitude and heroism in defending the country's territorial integrity. "I am convinced that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will continue to reliably defend the freedom and independence of our state,"- the head of state added.

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also spoke about the readiness of the Ukrainian army "to respond to a blow" in case of Russia's invasion. The Ukrainian minister called for "swift action" to deter Moscow. "If Russia decides to conduct a military operation, everything will happen literally in the blink of an eye,"- the foreign minister said.

Earlier, the Western media published materials on the build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. In particular, this was reported by the Associated Press agency on 4 December, citing US intelligence data, which also indicated that an "invasion" might take place in early 2022.

In addition, officials also spoke about possible "aggression" on the part of Russia. For example, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned Moscow that in case of an attack on Ukraine, the United States would activate sanctions mechanisms which it had not used before. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said that the alliance foreign ministers discussed possible economic sanctions and political measures against Russia in case of "aggression in Ukraine".

Russia has repeatedly denied the Western accusations. Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev pointed out that such rhetoric was groundless and that Russia had "never shown hostility towards any state, let alone Ukraine". In his turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the USA and NATO were pulling their forces and assets to the Russian border, noting that the West was provoking Ukraine into anti-Russian actions.