Nato calls on Russia to end build-up

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg yesterday called on Russia to withdraw troops that the alliance says Moscow is massing on Ukraine’s borders, ahead of an emergency meeting of allied foreign and defence ministers.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba flew to Brussels for talks with Mr Stoltenberg a day after Kiev accused the Kremlin of ignoring its request for talks between the two countries’ presidents over a build-up of Russian troops near its border.

“In recent weeks Russia has moved thousands of combat-ready troops to Ukraine’s borders, the largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

“Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and deescalate immediately,” he said at a news conference with Mr Kuleba, who said Kiev wanted a diplomatic solution.

Kiev and Moscow have traded blame over the worsening situation in the eastern Donbass region, where Ukrainian troops have battled Russian-backed forces in a conflict Kiev says has killed 14,000 people since 2014.

The West has expressed concern in recent weeks over a huge build-up of Russian forces close to Ukraine’s eastern border and in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Kiev in 2014.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Brussels yesterday to hold talks with Mr Kuleba, who called for further economic sanctions against Moscow and more military help to Kiev.

“At the operational level, we need measures which will deter Russia and contain its aggressive intentions. This could be ... a new round of sanctions,” Mr Kuleba said.