07 April 2021, Wednesday, 18:04 189

Kuleba Considers Accumulation Of Russian Troops On Border With Ukraine Most Large-Scale Provocation Since Detention Of Sailors In Kerch Strait

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba considers the current accumulation of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine to be the most ambitious provocation since the detention of Ukrainian sailors in the Kerch Strait in 2018.

He announced this in an interview with the French edition Libération, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

“What we see is a strong Russian military deployment in three directions: on our north-eastern border, then in the east of the country, where the war is now going on, and also in Crimea ... These are the most serious provocations that have been observed since the attack on our soldiers in the Kerch Strait (Crimea) in November 2018. But this clash between Ukrainian warships and Russian vessels took place in a very local place. Today, the threat covers almost the entire border between Ukraine and Russia, which makes the situation even more dangerous," he said.

Kuleba noted that from late July to December, a ceasefire was observed in Donbas, but since the end of last year, the increase in the number of violations of the silence regime has been increasing.

"Then something changed in Moscow ... Despite many constructive proposals, Russia refuses to renew the ceasefire," he said.

The minister believes that in this way the Russian Federation is trying to intimidate Ukraine and make it more flexible in negotiations.

"They are using this escalation to strengthen their positions in the Normandy Format," he said.

Kuleba also believes that the Russian Federation is thus sending a signal to Western countries in general in response to sanctions for treating Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

"The message is this: whatever you do, we do what we want. Thus, what is happening goes far beyond the borders of Ukraine," he said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, since early April, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the escalation of the situation in Donbas with the U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.