According to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, the U.S. Department of Defense is concerned about social media images and satellite images of Moscow moving large tanks, armored vehicles, heavy artillery and other equipment to the border with Ukraine.
In March of this year, Russian troops appear to be making repeated moves, with Moscow mobilizing a large force for a major military exercise called Zabat 2021 on the border with Ukraine. Some of the troops involved are said to have been staying in the area. As well as a lot of combat equipment.
According to the Ukrainian government, there are currently more than 80,000 troops on the border with Russia. But Russia has dismissed the reports as “fake news”. At the same time, the Kremlin pointed out that Moscow could decide for itself where to send its troops into Russia.
Drone attack in Ukraine
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have recently risen sharply following a Ukrainian attack by Turkish Turkish Bayraktar T2B drone on the artillery position of Russian-backed separatists who seized two provinces in eastern Ukraine in 2014. This is the first time Kiev has used a drone in the war against separatists.
Russia has denounced the 2015 violation of the Minsk agreement, which ended the worst clashes between the Ukrainian military and separatists. France and Germany also criticized Kiev, although the German government agreed that both sides would use drones in their conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky has justified a drone strike in which a soldier was killed as Howitzer recently opened fire on Ukrainian positions. “If the Ukrainian army is forced to defend the country, it will happen,” he warned.
Kiev also points out that Moscow is violating agreements by continuing to supply heavy artillery to separatists. As a defense against this, Kiev has purchased Turkish drones, which have proven their effectiveness in other conflicts such as Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Kiev plays with fire
Famous Russian TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov said that Kiev was “playing with fire” by deploying Turkish drones. According to him, this could lead to ‘revenge actions’ by the rebels and result in an open war. If so, he said, Moscow would have no choice but to militarily support the rebels.
In recent times, fighting on the ceasefire line between Ukrainian troops and separatists has been on the rise. Moscow this week accused Kiev of “trying to drag Russia” into the fighting with all sorts of ‘provocations’, while Kiev blamed Moscow for the escalating tensions in the region.
Russia is also annoyed by the presence of NATO and US military instructors in Ukraine. President Putin recently warned Ukraine Passed a ‘red fort’ with training with NATO soldiers. Extending NATO’s ‘military infrastructure’ to Ukraine is completely unacceptable to Moscow, he said.
Former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has taken a tough stance against Kiev, now deputy chairman of the Russian National Security Council. In an open letter to Ukrainian leaders in the Russian newspaper Commercial He questioned Ukraine’s right to be an independent country and opposed all negotiations with President Zhelensky, calling him a “defect” of the West. “There is no point in doing business with such slaves.”
Putin has previously accused the West of trying to turn Ukraine and other former Soviet republics against Russia. “We will never allow the use of our historical sites, the people who live there, and the people who have close ties with us against Russia,” Putin warned. “For people who want to try it, I would say they will destroy their country this way.”