Moscow on Tuesday accused the United States and different NATO nations of turning Ukraine into a “powder keg,” after the West sounded the alarm over Russian troopers massing on the border. “The United States and other NATO countries are deliberately turning Ukraine into a powder keg,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by Russian information businesses, including that nations have been rising their arms provides to Ukraine. Clashes between Ukrainian forces and Moscow-backed separatists in jap Ukraine have escalated in current weeks, upending a ceasefire brokered final yr.
Following an uptick in violence, Russia has constructed up troops alongside the border, elevating fears of a significant escalation within the long-running battle in Ukraine’s primarily Russian-speaking east.
“If there is any aggravation, we of course will do everything to ensure our security and the safety of our citizens, wherever they are,” Ryabkov stated.
“But Kiev and its allies in the West will be entirely responsible for the consequences of a hypothetical exacerbation,” he added.
On Tuesday morning, a Ukrainian soldier was killed and two extra injured close to the village of Mayorske some 35 kilometres (21 miles) north of the separatist stronghold Donetsk when a drone dropped grenades on the positions of Kiev’s troops, the army stated.
The newest casualty introduced the quantity of Ukrainian troops killed for the reason that begin of the yr to 29, in comparison with 50 in all of 2020.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was in Brussels on Tuesday, the place he met with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Kuleba was additionally set to satisfy with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels later Tuesday.
Ahead of the go to he stated he wished to debate Western help for Ukraine.
“Already now we need to talk about practical support that Ukraine can get in case of a large-scale armed escalation,” Kuleba stated in televised remarks late Monday.
The Kremlin, which has not denied the troop actions alongside the border, has stated it’s not planning to go to battle with Ukraine, but additionally added that it “will not remain indifferent” to the destiny of Russian audio system within the east.
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