The President says that "Novorossiya" project, which was to cover nine regions of Ukraine, failed. According to him, it is the biggest victory of the first year of his presidency. "We proved that Ukraine is a strong state," the President noted in a TV interview on Thursday.
"Russian Federation didn't want to occupy solely Donetsk and Luhansk. We all know that the key plan was to create "Novorossiya". Nine regions of Ukraine - Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Crimea - were to be cut off. Half of the country, more than a half of industrial potential were to be cut off. It was planned to create the reserve of "Russkiy Mir" - "Novorossiya"," Petro Poroshenko said.
According to the President, to implement that project it was planned to organize protests, send provocateurs, Russian troops and destroy the country. "We understand now that the plan was to destroy Ukraine. I'd like to congratulate all Ukrainians, because it was officially declared this month that the project "Novorossiya" failed. It is a an achievement of all Ukrainians," the President said.
"They cry that the people of Ukraine didn't support them, that they have lost all the chances to ensure this explosion, that the project "Novorossiya" failed. We should admit that both Donetsk and Luhansk can exist solely within united, independent and sovereign Ukraine," the President noted.
The Head of State also emphasized that the language issue, which had been dividing the state, had transformed into a unifying factor in a year. According to him, Russian-speaking Ukrainians "die for Ukraine in the ATO area defending their cities, children, parents and native land".
The President has noted that Russia had changed its tactics. Instead of spending money for militants in the East, it has sent them inside Ukraine to destabilize the situation, create anti-government and anti-state movements and play havoc. "They will once again see that Kremlin scenarios will fail," Petro Poroshenko said.