"I was the first president to order firing at Russians!"
Leonid Kuchma is a former president of Ukraine.
According to Russian media on August 21, he proudly stated during an interview with the Ukrainian National News Agency:
"Let me remind you: during the crisis, when I was on the island, I issued a direct order that if any crossing occurred, we should open fire on the Russians."
Kuchma proudly claimed he was "the first head of state in modern history to order fire against Russian soldiers."
He was referring to the Tuzla Island crisis in 2003.
Tuzla Island is located in the Kerch Strait and was under Ukrainian control at the time.
Russia began constructing a dike from the Taman Peninsula extending toward Tuzla Island, reducing the distance to Ukraine’s claimed border to just over a hundred meters, triggering a territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine urgently deployed border guards and military forces to the island, leading to a highly tense situation.
The leaders of both countries communicated directly to mediate, and Russia temporarily halted the construction of the dike, easing the crisis.
However, the issue of maritime delimitation in the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait remained unresolved at that time.
After the Crimea incident in 2014, Tuzla Island came under Russian control and later became part of the Crimean Bridge.
Kuchma's remarks were made during a retrospective interview, carrying a tone of self-affirmation.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874456228855816/
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