The European Union is concerned about reports of Russian troop movements near the border with Ukraine. “We continue to monitor the situation, and the information that we have collected so far is alarming,” said EU foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano in Brussels on Friday, November 12th.
According to him, Brussels is “ready to study further steps” together with partners, including the United States and Great Britain.
On the same day, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Valery Zaluzhny said that there are 2.1 thousand regular servicemen of the Russian Federation in the regions of Donbass not controlled by Kiev on a permanent basis. “Cadre Russian generals and officers occupy key command positions,” he wrote on Facebook.
The Kremlin announced “groundless escalation of tension”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin denied the assumptions related to the pulling together of troops to the border with Ukraine, calling them “empty, groundless escalation of tension.” “Russia poses no threat to anyone,” said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian president. Answering the question about the aggravation of the international situation, the Kremlin spokesman accused the West of “provocative actions.” “You see the situation in the Black Sea, you see active reconnaissance activities from the air by NATO aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, including American ones. All this, of course, cannot leave us indifferent to what is happening. We must be on the alert,” he said. he.
The day before, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned Russia against yet another “serious mistake” with regard to Ukraine and demanded clarification about the movement of troops near the Ukrainian border. In turn, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that Russia’s military activity near the border with Ukraine “is unusual in its size and scope.” “We urge Russia to make clear its intentions and adhere to the Minsk agreements,” Kirby said.
Reports of increased concentration of Russian forces in the border area with Ukraine
Information about the activity of the Russian army near the border with Ukraine on October 30 appeared in The Washington Post. The publication said that recently videos showing the movement of Russian military equipment have been posted on social networks. On November 1, the Politico online resource published satellite images of the area near the village of Yelnya in the Smolensk region, possibly confirming information about the concentration of Russian army units in the area. Smolensk region borders on Belarus, but does not adjoin Ukraine.
In April 2021, as part of large-scale military exercises, Russia transferred about 120,000 soldiers and officers to the annexed Crimea and the border with Donbass, raising fears in Ukraine and the West that Moscow was preparing for a war with Ukraine. Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk said that his country would be even more energetic in seeking NATO membership. The Russian Defense Ministry explained the transfer of troops as a reaction to the “threatening actions” of the North Atlantic Alliance and the need to check the combat readiness of the Russian army.
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