The head of the NATO military alliance urged Russia to prevent any escalation in the wake of its build-up of forces near the border with Ukraine.
According to Bloomberg: “What we see is a significant, large Russian military build-up, we see an unusual concentration of troops and we know Russia has been willing to use these types of military capabilities before to conduct aggressive actions against Ukraine,” Jens Stolten secretary-general of the 30-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization, told reporters on Monday.
According to the Guardian, The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said last week that Russia had amassed nearly 100,000 of its soldiers near Ukraine’s border, as Washington warned that Moscow may be “attempting to rehash” its 2014 invasion. “We have seen large and unusual concentrations of Russian forces close to Ukraine’s borders,” Stoltenberg said on Monday.
“Nato remains vigilant … Any further provocation or aggressive actions by Russia would be of serious concern. We call on Russia to be transparent about its military activities.”
Stoltenberg’s remarks came at a meeting with the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, at Nato headquarters in Brussels, where the two discussed “the security situation in and around Ukraine”. “We have to be clear-eyed,” Stoltenberg said, “we need to be realistic about the challenges we face. And what we see is a significant, large Russian military buildup.”
DW stated that Ukraine has estimated that as many 100,000 Russian troops are present in the border area, which Stoltenberg called “dangerous.” “We see an unusual concentration of troops, and we know that Russia has been willing to use these types of military capabilities before to conduct aggressive actions against Ukraine,” the NATO chief said.
Meanwhile, Germany called on Moscow to exercise “restraint” in the border region. “In order not to further aggravate an already tense situation, it’s important for Russia to exercise restraint with regards to military activities and movements,” German Foreign Spokesperson Christofer Burger told journalists on Monday. “We are watching these military activities by Russia with concern.”
