President Joe Biden called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday to affirm his “strong support” for Ukraine after Ukraine earlier this week accused Russia of amassing troops along the border between the two countries. Only the same day Russia warned the West not to send troops to support Ukraine. Russia’s Kremlin crown said, “Russia is not threatening anyone, it never has.”
On Friday, Biden called the Ukrainian president to affirm his strong support for Ukraine in connection with the Russian military build-up on the border. According to a Central News Agency report, it was the first time Biden spoke with Zelensky since he took office in January this year. Russia warned the West not to send troops to support Ukraine only earlier in the day.
Biden agreed last month to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin as an “executioner,” angering authorities in Moscow, and relations between the two countries have hit bottom.
According to a White House statement, Biden “affirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of continued Russian aggression.
Zelenski, who this week accused Russia of massing troops on the Ukrainian border, said in a video released by the president’s office that Biden assured him that Ukraine would never be left alone in the face of Russian aggression.
AFP said the cease-fire agreement between Russia and Ukraine has been rendered meaningless by a renewed dispute on the front lines in recent weeks. Ukrainian government forces are battling Russian-backed separatists in the east, and there are fears that the situation on the ground could deteriorate and a conflict could break out.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media Friday that if the U.S. sends troops, Russia must respond as well. There is no doubt that such a development would lead to a further increase in tensions in areas adjacent to Russia’s borders,” he said. Of course, the Russian side will take additional measures to ensure its own security.” Peskov would not specify what measures the Russians would take, insisting only that Russia had not acted to threaten Ukraine. “Russia is not threatening anyone, it never has,” he said.
The Central News Agency cited Russia’s announcement Friday that the armed forces will hold military exercises in southern Russia, near the Ukrainian border, to practice defense against attack drones The Russian Defense Forces noted that more than 50 battalion-level combat units will participate in the wave of drills, numbering about 15,000 people.
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