According to NATO, Europe is facing a massive Russian military presence on the border with Ukraine in the “largest military contingent” since the Cold War.
“This is more than a ploy. Russia is clearly attacking Ukraine without any other warning,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the German television channel ZDF.
At the moment, the United States estimates that between 169,000 and 190,000 troops may be stationed on and along the Ukrainian border, including separatist forces.
“We have no doubt seen the greatest concentration of military forces since the end of the Cold War,” said the leader of the Atlantic Coalition at the Munich Security Conference, an important annual meeting on security issues. That Friday in that southern German city.
The NATO Secretary-General underlined that he closely follows the “heated” debate that has arisen in Sweden and Finland over the possible access of these countries to NATO due to Russian-Ukrainian tensions.
“We are listening very carefully to those coming from Sweden and Finland. They have not yet applied for membership, but they do not want NATO to close the door if they ever want to do so,” he pointed out.
U.S. and European officials are wary of any attempt by Russia to create an excuse for an invasion of Ukraine.
There are the last few hours Serious violations of the Ceasefire Agreement reached in 2015Under the Minsk Treaty, in the east of the country.
The Ukrainian military and separatists today blamed each other for new attacks in the east of the country, with Ukrainian authorities declaring 20 ceasefire violations by separatists overnight, while pro-Russian rebels have counted 27 military attacks.
Observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have announced a significant increase in shootings, pointing to 189 ceasefire violations in the Donetsk region on Thursday.
The self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lukansk in the Ukrainian Donbass, citing fears of an attack by the Ukrainian military in Kiev today, have ordered the mass withdrawal of civilians into Russian territory.
According to Donetsk officials, the Russian company Interfax quoted more than 700,000 residents in the region as displaced to Russia.
The Ukrainian government today called on the international community to “immediately” condemn the “provocations” of pro-Russian separatists in Russia and Donbass, reiterating that there were no war intentions in Donetsk and Lukansk.
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