NATO’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg has called on Russia to halt its military buildup around Ukraine, describing it as “unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning”.
Speaking at a press conference, Stoltenberg stated that Russia had moved thousands of combat troops to Ukraine’s borders;in “the largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014”.
The head of the western military alliance, addressing Moscow directly,;added that “Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, present for the press conference had flown in;for an emergency meeting with Stoltenberg to discuss the crisis. This comes amid mounting concern among NATO members about Russia’s military manoeuvres.
Kuleba said Russia had gathered troops in three directions; to the “north-east of Ukraine, to Crimea in the south and to Donbas in the east”. He also accused Russia of “drastically intensifying its antagonistic propaganda, which dehumanizes Ukrainians and incites hatred towards Ukraine”.
The Minister further averred that Ukraine urgently needs help from Nato to contain Russia’s “aggressive intentions.”
“At the operational level, we need measures which will deter Russia, and which will contain its aggressive intentions.”
He also suggested that further economic sanctions against Moscow and more military support could help protect Ukraine from an escalation.
Ukraine is an ally of NATO, but not a member. In recent weeks, Kyiv has urged the alliance to hasten its membership but Moscow has warned against such a move.
NATO has told Kyiv to focus on rolling out domestic reforms and developing its defence capabilities, in order to be considered for membership.
Military buildup a ‘preparedness check’
Meanwhile, Moscow has hit back at NATO, saying the deployments were a reaction to NATO plans to move troops closer to Russia’s borders in the Baltic and Black Sea regions.
In a direct attack on NATO, Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu called the troop movements “proper measures” taken “in response to the alliance’s military activities threatening Russia”. These activities, he said, includes an alleged NATO plan to move troops closer to Russia’s borders.
Shoigu also revealed that the Russian deployments, which he called part of a “preparedness check”, was due to conclude in two weeks.
Earlier, Russia warned the US to ensure that warships expected to enter the Black Sea shortly avoided Crimea “for their own good”. The Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said their anticipated deployment was a provocation designed to test Moscow’s strength.
“There is absolutely nothing for American ships to be doing near our shores, this is purely a provocative action. Provocative in the direct sense of the word…they are testing our strength, playing on our nerves. They will not succeed.
“We warn the United States that it will be better for them to stay far away from Crimea and our Black Sea coast. It will be for their own good.”
Although Washington has not officially confirmed the deployment, Turkey, which dominates access to the Black Sea, said that two US destroyers were expected to pass through the straits in support of Ukraine’s navy to the north.
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