Ukraine’s foreign minister said the risk of war with Russia was growing as President Barack Obama prepared to travel to Europe amid calls from U.S. lawmakers for more Western support for the Kiev government.
U.S. officials said Russian troops are massed along virtually the entire Ukrainian border and have about doubled in number from when Moscow’s defense ministry first announced military exercises near Ukraine.
Ukrainians are prepared to “defend their homeland,” Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia said in an interview broadcast yesterday on ABC-TV’s “This Week” program.
“This situation is becoming even more explosive than it used to be a week ago,” Deshchytsia said.
Obama is to travel to the Netherlands today on the first leg of a six-day trip. While focusing on diplomatic and economic tools, he has joined European leaders in warning of further consequences if Russia continues its incursion.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” program, U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said the troop movements are creating more instability in Ukraine.
“It’s deeply concerning to see the Russian troop buildup along the border,” Blinken said. “It’s likely that what they’re troop movements are creating more instability in Ukraine. It’s possible that they’re preparing to move in.”
Western nations and Russia have exchanged economic sanctions since Russian President Vladimir Putin completed the annexation of Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula.
- - bloomberg
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