KIEV – Tensions have risen on the Ukrainian border, where Kiev claims that Moscow has increased its military presence. The spokesman for the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov he declared that “Russia is moving its armed forces to its territory as it sees fit” and that this “poses no threat to anyone and shouldn’t affect anyone”.
The accusation of the Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenskij it came to Moscow through a note: Russia “tries to create a threatening environment” with “military exercises and possible provocations at the border”. And the spokesman for US diplomacy, Ned Price, intervened immediately to warn Moscow to refrain from carrying out “aggressive actions to intimidate, threaten our partner, Ukraine”.
On a day of mounting tension, Zelensky had a telephone conversation with the American president Joe Biden and stated that Kiev “appreciates US support at various levels” and that the partnership with the US is “crucial” for Ukraine. “We stand side by side when it comes to preserving our democracies. My commitment to transform Ukraine, improve transparency and achieve peace is strong,” Zelensky said.
The United States supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s aggression in Donbass and Crimea, Biden said speaking to the Ukrainian president.
According to Ukraine and the United States, Russian troop movements were detected at the Russian-Ukrainian border, near the territories controlled by pro-Russian separatists and also in Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Ukraine, Kiev denounces violation of the ceasefire in force since midnight in the Donbass
by ROSALBA CASTELLETTI
A ceasefire has been in place in eastern Ukraine since 2015, but it has been continuously violated and steps were taken to strengthen it in July 2020. The special mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe continues to record violations of the truce. In this climate of tension, on Thursday the diplomatic service of the European Union denounced the military campaign launched by Russia in Crimea, calling it a “violation of international humanitarian law”.
.