US calls on Russia to explain recent military “provocations” on border with Ukraine

The United States said it found reports of recent Russian military movements on the border with Ukraine “credible” and called on Moscow to provide an explanation for what it called “provocations,” he said. the State Department spokesman said Monday. Ned Prize, who also claimed that the Joe Biden government was ready to engage in the situation.

Reports of an increase in and movement of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine became the last point of tension in icy US-Russia relations, less than three months after President Biden took office.

Price told a press conference that the United States would be concerned about any effort by Moscow to intimidate Ukraine, whether it is produced on Russian territory or Ukraine.

However, he declined to say whether Washington thinks Russia is preparing to invade the neighboring former Soviet republic.

Later Monday, a State Department spokesperson told the agency Reuters that the United States is “open to a compromise with Moscow” on the situation, describing as “credible” the reports of Russian troop movements on the border between Ukraine and Crimea, the peninsula taken by Russia in 2014.

The movements, said the spokesperson, were preceded by violations of a July 2020 ceasefire that killed four Ukrainian soldiers and injured four others.

In parallel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the UK has “significant concerns” about Russian activity in Crimea and on the Ukrainian border.

The Prime Minister, in a telephone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed his “unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Johnson’s office said in a statement.

In addition, he expressed his solidarity with the Zelensky government “in the face of this destabilizing activity and welcomed Ukraine’s approach to the situation,” he added.

For his part, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, declared that he “followed with great concern the military activity of Russia around the Ukraine”. He also said he had a telephone interview with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in which he pledged his “unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Ukraine.

France and Germany also expressed their concerns on Sunday over rising tensions in eastern Ukraine.

The German Embassy in Ukraine shared a joint statement expressing Berlin’s concern over “the growing number of ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine.”

“We are monitoring the situation and we are calling for moderation and an immediate de-escalation of tensions”, shared the German Embassy. He also added in the text that “Support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine” and they demanded that “efforts continue to implement the Minsk agreements”.

The Kremlin was quick to respond. Through his spokespersons, he asserted that Ukraine, Western Countries Should Not ‘Worse’ Russian Troop Movements Across Ukraine Border.

“Russia moves its armed forces on its territory as it sees fit”,Russian presidency spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “But this poses no threat to anyone and shouldn’t worry anyone», He clarified.

In eastern Ukraine, conflicts have continued for years due to tensions between Ukraine and Russia. In the case of Crimea, Russia annexed this territory during the 2014 conflict before the population decided to incorporate it in a referendum, while the Donbass region has been experiencing armed conflict for years between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian separatists.

The Minsk Accords, signed in September 2014 and February 2015, laid the foundations for a political solution to the conflict, but so far have not led to an end to the violence. Hostilities have so far claimed some 13,000 lives, according to UN estimates.

After the truce in the second half of 2020, the conflict in eastern Ukraine has seen several armed clashes that killed 19 Ukrainian soldiers. Both sides blame each other for the escalation.

In addition, Ukraine and the United States recently indicated that there was Movements of Russian troops in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, and on the Russian-Ukrainian border, near the territories controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

With information from Reuters, AFP and Europa Press

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