Official: Ukraine will fight for land Russia likely to annex

By ADAM SCHRECK and HANNA ARHIROVA
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An adviser to Ukraine’s president says his country is determined to reclaim territory Russia is likely to annex following stage-managed voting in occupied areas.  In an interview with The Associated Press in Kyiv, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak insisted Wednesday that nothing would change on the battlefield if Russia moves to incorporate the four regions of Ukraine in the coming days, as is widely expected. He said: “We will liberate our territory by military means.” But Podolyak also said that Ukraine takes seriously Moscow’s threats to use nuclear weapons in the war with its neighbor and if it does, other countries would feel empowered to launch a preemptive nuclear strike.