Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
The Kremlin says Ukraine was preparing to attack Russia. It views the desire of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to ‘take’ Crimea as a direct threat.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was concerned about a possible Ukrainian military move in the east, which Kyiv denies.
“Such a formulation implies that Kyiv can use any option, including force, to try and encroach on Russian territory,” he said, saying Ukraine’s desire to “seize” Crimea was a threat to Russia.
This statement comes amid tensions between Russia, Ukraine and the West. Ukraine and the West assess Russia is building military forces near Ukraine.
Moscow denies ‘gossip’ of the country’s invasion of Ukraine and accuses Ukraine of building military forces near Russia.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, exposing the country to criticism and sanctions from the west.
As a result of NATO’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country would submit a new proposal related to a European security pact. This pact aims to stop NATO expansion in the East.
Not only that, Lavrov also said arms shipments from the west to Ukraine made Kiev think they could resolve border disputes by force.
Russia is also afraid of the possibility of the appearance of US medium-range missiles on European territory.
Previously, Russia accused Kiev of deploying 125,000 troops to Donbass on Wednesday (1/12).
Donbass is located 877 kilometers southeast of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. The area has been a conflict zone between government forces and pro-Russian separatists since 2014 when the Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Moscow.
(pwn / bac)
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