On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “Any renewed Russian aggression in Ukraine would trigger serious consequences”. The US and other officials have been sounding the alarm in recent weeks over Russia amassing troops near its border with Ukraine. They showed their concern that an offensive or an escalation of a seven-year-long conflict in the volatile eastern region of Donbas could be on the horizon. Blinken also called the Russian troop movements “unusual” and added any escalating actions by Russia would be of great concern to the United States. However, Russian officials said the reports of a military buildup are baseless and alleged NATO of building more of a foothold in its own backyard. The top Russian diplomat, Sergey Lavrov also attacked the alliance for deploying a significant amount of military hardware near Russia’s borders.
Lavrov also said Moscow could respond to security threats from Western countries and Ukraine if necessary. On Tuesday, he said, “The fact that we are being accused of conducting military exercises on our sovereign territory by the countries that are bringing troops and military equipment to our borders in huge quantities from overseas and the fact that the United States has surrounded us from all sides with their military bases is something every school-kid knows. And yet this hysteria is constantly being whipped up”. He was referring to concerns voiced by Western leaders about military aggression toward Ukraine. Newly appointed Ukrainian defense minister Alexey Reznikov suggested that the current buildup is most likely connected to a possible upcoming virtual meeting between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin said is in the works and may happen before the end of the year.
Last weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “I think we have been in the state of war for the past eight years. But when it comes to a full-fledged offensive, I think today some media have been fear-mongering on that matter”. The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov said that more than 90,000 Russian troops are deployed in the vicinity of Ukraine. It is a smaller number compared to similar tensions last spring. Experts have pointed out that it is little for the Kremlin to gain if an all-out war breaks out. The chairman of Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Fedor Lukyanov said, “NATO’s expansion has shaped the politico-military landscape in which we live today. Maintaining such a perspective is fraught with aggravation, and parting with it requires revision and establishment of a new system of red lines”.