In particular, it was not preparing any offensives or military operations.[2] During renewed tensions in January 2022, Kuleba stated that any reckless step of the Russian Federation or a new round of violence on its part would cost it dearly.[3] Kuleba said that Russia continued to increase its military presence along the Ukrainian-Russian border, in the occupied territories and in the seas of Ukraine. According to him, Russia was gathering troops in three directions, including in the northeast of Ukraine, in the Crimea, in the south, and in the Donbas, in the east.