“Russia’s destabilizing actions undermine the de-escalation intentions that had been [last year’s agreement]”Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.” In addition, we are aware of Ukrainian military reports regarding Russian troop movements on the borders of Ukraine.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ “unwavering support” for Ukraine’s territorial integrity in the face of “Russia’s ongoing aggression in Donbass and Crimea,” according to a reading. his appeal with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley also held talks with Senior Ukrainian General on Wednesday, while National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart earlier this week. .
The Pentagon had grown increasingly concerned after military intelligence reports estimated that some 4,000 heavily armed Russian forces had been observed moving into Crimea, according to a US defense official. “It was not entirely clear what they were up to,” the official said, adding that the United States now believes that, after further assessment, it may have been part of a Russian military exercise. Part of that assessment was based on calls with Ukrainian officials who also viewed Russian activity as an exercise.
If so, the move of so many Russian servicemen was a major exercise and could be a deliberate message from the Kremlin to the Biden administration about Russia’s strength in the region and its ability to challenge American allies, the manager said.
It comes as NATO countries scrambled jets 10 times on Monday to track an unusually high level of Russian military flights over much of Europe, including the North Sea, Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. NATO planes ended up making six interceptions in six hours.
The Biden administration is taking a tougher approach on Russia, and Ukraine is just the latest source of tension between the two adversaries. The White House unveiled a series of sanctions against Russian officials and entities earlier this month for the poisoning of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. President Joe Biden then warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin would “pay a price” for his efforts to undermine the 2020 US election and continued to label Putin a “killer.” Meanwhile, the administration is expected to impose more sanctions on Russia for election interference and the SolarWinds cyberattack.
On Wednesday, Milley spoke with his Russian counterpart, General Valery Gerasimov. Although the subjects discussed by the two generals have not been made public, behind the scenes, the Defense Department has been concerned for several days about the accumulation of Russian troops and equipment along the Ukrainian border. The Defense Department recently raised the so-called “surveillance level” in this region to gather up-to-date intelligence assessments of Russia’s activity and intentions, while monitoring potential threats. The New York Times was the first to report this development.
Russia has accused Ukraine of resuming fighting in eastern Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this week that Russia was concerned about “Ukraine provocations”, but said he hoped it would not escalate into fighting.
But Ukraine has warned of a series of Russian ceasefire violations, including two incidents of mortar fire and large-caliber machine gun fire that resulted in the deaths of four Ukrainian soldiers last Friday. Ukraine on Tuesday accused Russia of violating the ceasefire seven times, prompting the country’s parliament to call for increased political and economic pressure on Moscow.
