Russian troops ‘very ready,’ may threaten stability in Moldova

Russian forces massed along Ukraine’s eastern border could threaten stability in a separatist region of neighboring Moldova, the U.S. general who serves as NATO’s top military commander said Sunday.

“The force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizable and very, very ready,” Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove said at a meeting of the German Marshall Fund think tank in Brussels.

Breedlove added that Russia had anticipated and prepared for action in Crimea. “Russia tried to get a local face in Crimea with local militias, but there was a thin veneer of locals in the front and a lot of men in green behind,” he said, referring to Russian troops in unmarked uniforms.

The comments drew a quick response from Moscow, where Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov dismissed concerns about the troop buildup. He told Tass news agency and other news outlets that Russia was “in compliance” with international agreements on troop limits in regions bordering Ukraine.

Russia’s envoy to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, told British news organization BBC that Russia has no intention of sending troops to other parts of Ukraine or Europe. He defended Russia’s actions in Crimea as an effort to protect ethnic Russians.

The Transdniestria region of Moldova declared its independence in 1990, although no countries in the United Nations recognize it. Its population of 500,000 people is almost onethird ethnic Russian, and some members of its parliament have urged Russia to annex the region.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian air force commander was being held after his base in Crimea was stormed by pro-Russian forces, and Ukraine’s acting president called for his release.

President Oleksandr Turchynov said Col. Yuliy Mamchur was “abducted.” Vitali Klitschko, of Ukraine’s Democratic Alliance for Reform, said Sunday that Mamchur is being held in Sevastopol.