More than 400 Russians are being held in Ukrainian prisons

CAIRO – 22 November 2017: The head of the Russian Federation's Defense and Security Committee Victor Bondarev confirmed Wednesday that more than 400 Russian citizens have been held in Ukrainian prisons since 2014, while the exact number of Russians persecuted for political reasons cannot be estimated, according to Reuters.

The Federation Council proposed to appeal to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Attorney General Yuri Chaika and Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov to join efforts to defend the rights of Russian individuals and legal entities in Ukraine, the Russian news agency Tass quoted Bondarev as saying.

He added that the parliamentary proposal came after reports of numerous systematic violations against the legal rights of Russian citizens living in Ukraine.

Russia has important strategic interests in Ukraine that may outweigh the interests of the West, and geographically Ukraine and Russia are separated from the NATO countries and the European Union. The future membership of the European Union and NATO is a major strategic threat to Russia.

It is not surprising then that Ukraine has military bases in NATO that Russia views as a threat to its stability and safety. On the other hand, the strategic location of Crimea on the Black Sea provides important facilities for the Russian fleet stationed there, where Russia cannot do so in any way.
The Ukrainian army is considered one of the strongest and largest armies in the region and may come second only to the Russian army. Russian military intervention in the Crimea is a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty over its territory and territory.

The Ukrainians must defend their borders by various means, including the use of a military machine. Although the military conflict between the two parties is not in favor of any party, the Ukrainian party will be the biggest victim of this conflict, if happened, according to Al-Arab website.