Therefore, Alexey Avdeev is responsible for actively supporting or implementing actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability and security in Ukraine.
Ukraine has lately become the main target of the Southern Military District. Because of that, the new 8th Army was formed and the District’s presence on the territory of the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula was expanded. Since mid-October 2021, Russian military forces have started an unprecedented military build-up on or near the Ukrainian border and within Ukraine’s occupied Crimea region. In this respect many observers and policymakers have expressed concerns about a possible new Russian invasion of Ukraine or other aggressive actions. Troops from the Southern Military District have conducted military drills in areas encircling Ukraine and have moved artillery and battalion tactical groups into the Crimean peninsula. After Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognise the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic”, soldiers of the Southern Military District entered the territory of these two self-proclaimed republics. The Southern Military District also supervised military exercises of the armed forces of the separatist “republics”.