RUSSIA’S MILITARY LEADER WARNS UKRAINE
Russia’s top military officer on Thursday sternly warned neighboring Ukraine against trying to reclaim control over separatist areas by force, saying that Moscow will “suppress” any such attempt.
The statement by Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, comes amid soaring tensions over a Russian troop buildup near the border with Ukraine that stoked Ukrainian and Western fears of a possible invasion.
A senior Russian diplomat doubled down on Gerasimov’s warning by saying that the failure to stem the mounting tensions could push Russia and the West to a redux of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that put the world on the verge of a nuclear war.
Tensions briefly rose later Thursday when Russia’s Federal Security Service said a Ukrainian navy ship was heading toward the Kerch Strait between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, ignoring Russian coast guard vessels’ signals. The FSB charged that maneuvering by the Ukrainian ship Donbas jeopardized navigation safety. The agency reported later that the ship changed course and sailed away from the Kerch Strait.
The Ukrainian military dismissed the Russian claims, saying the Donbas didn’t come anywhere close to any “sensitive” areas and was now heading back to its base. Russia has rejected Ukrainian and Western claims of plotting an attack and described them as a cover-up for a possible attempt by Ukraine to retake the rebel-held areas. Ukraine has denied such plans.
On Thursday, Gerasimov reinforced Moscow’s warning to Ukraine not to try to use force to reclaim control of the east, saying that “any provocations by Ukrainian authorities to settle the Donbas problems by force will be suppressed.”
U.S. intelligence officials say Russia has stationed about 70,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and has begun planning for a possible invasion as soon as early next year.
President Joe Biden reached out to Ukraine’s leader Thursday, assuring President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The two called on Putin to calm the crisis and urged diplomacy. Biden said the U.S. was prepared to help with “confidencebuilding measures” to implement a 2015 peace deal.