After satellite imagery revealed that President Putin was massing troops at the Ukrainian border, the US warned Russia not to make a serious mistake.
Antony Blinken Secretary of State said that he is concerned by the ‘unusual Russian activities’ at the border. This comes amid worries Putin might march into the country and attempt to annexe additional territory.
Blinken, speaking in Washington alongside Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, said that would be a ‘serious mistake’ – adding that America’s ‘commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, to its independence, to its territorial integrity is ironclad.’
After troops were seen massing at the border, America warned Russia not to make a serious mistake and try to annexe more Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine says there are now around 90,000 Russian troops near its border with tanks and artillery pieces spotted in camps near Yelnya, Bryansk and Kursk
Blinken stated that while we don’t know everything about Moscow’s plans, “we do have a good idea of its strategy,” he said at a joint news conference.
“Our concern is Russia might make the grave mistake of trying to revisit what it did back in 2014, when it assembled forces at the border and crossed into sovereign Ukrainian territory. It claimed falsely it was provoked.
“Our commitment is to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and we will stand firm against any Russian attempts to use previous tactics,”
Since 2014, when Russia took the Crimea peninsula, Ukraine has been caught up in a bloody war against pro-Moscow separatists.
Russia responded to mass protests and expelled President Viktor Yanukovych. He was a Moscow friend who wanted to reverse his efforts to join Europe.
Putin entered Ukraine and took control of territory, fearing Ukraine might fall under Russian influence.
Russian troops have occupied Crimea. After a referendum that showed overwhelming support to join Russia, Moscow now claims the Crimea as its territory.
Antony Blinken Secretary of State said that America’s “commitment Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity is ironclad”
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country will be working with the US to step up its defences, while denying the country will attack anyone
Western leaders insist that the election, conducted by Russian soldiers under close supervision, was illegal. They call the region ‘Russian-occupied Ukraine.
As a result, Putin’s regime was subject to sanctions. Many of these remain in effect. This move has strained relations between Russia and the West for decades.
When more than 100,000 soldiers, tanks, and artillery pieces gathered at the border in April without warning there were concerns that Putin would attempt to invade Ukraine again.
Putin maintained that Putin was simply testing military readiness prior to pulling out some of his troops. NATO however says most of these forces remain in place.
Ukraine had warned this month about the presence of Russian troops close to the border. This includes airborne units and those that have recently conducted drills there. They have not left the region since the end of the exercise.
Satellite images shared with Politico also showed a build-up of tanks and artillery pieces near the towns of Yelnya, Bryansk and Kursk.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, stated that the country was open to working with America to strengthen its defenses. He also said that it did not plan to attack any person.
Putin sent troops to Ukraine in 2014 to annexe Crimea after the Moscow-friendly government had been toppled by revolution. This led to sanctions being imposed on Putin’s regime.
Kuleba stated that the best way to stop Russia from being aggressive is to let the Kremlin know that Ukraine is strong and that its allies will continue to support it in spite of Moscow’s increasing aggression.
“Russian aggression against Ukraine is over when Ukraine’s position as an independent country in the West has been institutionalized, undoubted,” he stated.
John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesperson said the Russian movement was “unusual” in size and scope.
He said that Russia should be transparent about its intentions, and should abide by the Minsk Agreements, which refers to an agreement to stop fighting in Ukraine.
These comments were made after a rare visit by William Burns (director of the US Central Intelligence Agency), to Moscow last week. Burns spoke via telephone with Vladimir Putin.
CNN reported that Joe Biden had sent Burns (the former US Ambassador to Moscow) to bring up the Russian troop increase directly to the Kremlin.