Tensions are running high between Russia and Ukraine. Now Russia has expelled a Ukrainian diplomat and sent warships to the Black Sea. Fear of escalation is increasing.
Amid tensions between Moscow and Kiev over the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russia expelled a diplomat from the neighboring country. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced today, Saturday, in the capital, Moscow, that the Ukrainian consul in Saint Petersburg should leave the country.
He had previously been temporarily arrested by the FSB. Russia accuses him of receiving classified information from a Russian citizen. No details were mentioned. Something like this was said to be inconsistent with the status of the consul.
Ukrainian media reported that the Federal Security Service detained the consul overnight. The Kiev Foreign Ministry responded with indignation. “This is another provocation,” a spokesman said. It was to be expected Ukraine It will also expel the Russian diplomat from the country.
Send warships to the Black Sea
Additionally, it has Russia Sent 15 warships to the Black Sea to maneuver. They will have the Kerch Strait on the peninsula on Saturday Generous The Navy said, according to Interfax. How long the exercises will last not mentioned at the beginning. They had it previously United States of America After complaints from Russia, two warships to the Black Sea were canceled, according to Turkish statements.
On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that some marine areas in the Crimea must be cordoned off for several months due to the exercises. She added that shipping on the strait would not be affected. However, there was criticism from the European Union, NATO, and Ukraine for Russia’s actions. A senior European Union official spoke of a “very worrying development”.
Escalation worried
Due to the deployment of Russian forces in close proximity to the Ukrainian border, international concerns about escalation are growing. For nearly seven years, pro-Moscow separatists were in control of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions along the Russian border. The United Nations estimates that more than 13,000 people have been killed in the fighting. A peace plan agreed in 2015 with French-German mediation is pending.
But the head of the Ukrainian military operation, Sergei Nago, indicated that he did not expect a new war. “We do not see any preparations for the attack,” he said on Saturday night on Ukrainian television. “In fact, field hospitals have been set up.” All units are in the camps, in the shooting ranges. “From the military point of view, we are talking about a show of force.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel and the French president met only on Friday Emmanuel Macron During a conversation with the Ukrainian head of state Wolodymyr Selenskyj Concern about the deployment of Russian forces along the Ukrainian border and called on Moscow to withdraw. According to Ukrainian sources, Russia has massed more than 40,000 soldiers on the border.