Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned the gathering of Russian troops on his country’s border as a means of “psychological pressure”, and joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises began today in Belarus.
“We believe that the deployment of troops near our borders is a means of exerting psychological pressure on the part of our neighbors,” Zelensky said in a statement issued by the Ukrainian presidency.
“There is nothing new. In terms of risks, they exist and have never ceased (to exist) since 2014,” the year Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and clashed with Moscow-backed separatists in the east. part of Ukraine, he adds.
“The question is, what is the level of these risks and how do we react?”
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the joint Russia-Belarus exercises will be held until February 20 in five exercise fields, four air bases and “various locations” in Belarus, mainly in the Brest region, which borders Ukraine.
Moscow has deployed more than 100,000 troops since November on its eastern border with Ukraine.
The Ukrainian army is also conducting exercises on Ukrainian soil, during which it is planned to use Turkish fighter jets and anti-tank missiles delivered to it by London and Washington.
Yesterday, Wednesday, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ghana Maliar said that Russian troops, which have gathered at the border, are not ready for an imminent invasion of her country, as feared by the West, but rather serve as a “blackmail” from the side. of the Kremlin.
“Gesture of great violence”
The French Foreign Minister today described as a “gesture of great violence” the joint Russian-Belarusian high schools that started today and will last ten days at the gates of Ukraine.
“It is extremely massive. There is a very significant accumulation of exercises, especially on the borders of Ukraine itself,” Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement to France Inter radio.
“So everything allows us to think that this is a gesture of great violence, which worries us,” he added.
Russia is accused of being ready to launch a new military operation against Kiev, which the Kremlin denies, but says it wants to guarantee its security in the face of hostile behavior by Kiev and NATO.
“Announcements have been made for high schools that will last until February 20. We can imagine that, when that date passes, the forces will withdraw, then we will see if this is the case,” said the head of French diplomacy.
“It will be a very important test (…). We will see if there will be a de-escalation process that will be implemented,” he added.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the French presidency welcomed the fact that the tour of French President Emanuel Macron in Moscow, Kiev and Berlin achieved its “goal”, as it allowed “to move forward” to calm the situation.
“Dialogue with the Russians is lively, demanding, sometimes even challenging,” Lentrian said, adding that the talks between the two presidents were “a confrontation, a request for explanations, a lot of honesty.”
“The strength of this visit was the clarity of positions,” he said, while welcoming the quality of talks between Europeans and NATO allies.
“We have an internal transparency and trust that I have long seen between the allies and the Europeans,” he said.
SOURCE: AMPE
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