The US warns Russia against "intimidating" Ukraine
The United States has warned Russia against "intimidating" Kyiv amid reports of a growing Russian military presence on the border with Ukraine.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated this at a briefing in Washington, the European Pravda reports.
"These are aggressive actions, actions that intend to intimidate, threaten our partner Ukraine. We've concluded that the recent escalation of Russia and aggressive and provocative actions in eastern Ukraine are just that. Our concern is based on Russia's escalation and aggression in eastern Ukraine. Of course, we'd be concerned about any Russian Federation's attempts to intimidate its neighbors and our partners. Of course, Ukraine is among them," Price said.
He stated that the United States had information from Ukrainian military reports on the movement of Russian troops on Ukraine's borders.
"We're discussing our concerns about rising tensions and ceasefire violations and regional tensions with NATO members," Price said.
The spokesperson noted that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had called his Ukrainian colleague, Dmytro Kuleba, the Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lloyd Austin, had spoken to Ukrainian Defense Minister Andrii Taran, and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had also spoken to Andrii Yermak.
"We'll continue to maintain close contact with our partners in Kyiv and Ukraine amid recent escalations. Russia's destabilizing actions are undermining the OSCE-mediated de-escalation intentions of last July," he said.
As reported by Rubryka, on April 1, the European Command of the United States Armed Forces brought troops to the highest level after the occupants in Donbas violated the ceasefire and killed four Ukrainian servicemen, and Russia began withdrawing troops to the border with Ukraine.
Ukrainian intelligence reported that Russia was preparing large-scale provocations and could bring militants deep into Ukraine.
