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Increased military activity after weeks of rising tensions that have increased the risk of war.
Russia has carried out military exercises in the Black Sea, southern Ukraine, and said it needs to increase its readiness to fight its conventional and nuclear forces as NATO activity nears its borders has intensified.
Ukraine has said the United States believes in its ally Russia preparing for an invasion, organize his exercises near the Belarusian border.
The increase in military activity on both sides comes after weeks of high tensions that have increased the risk of war between the two neighbors, though Russia denies it aggressive intent and Western intelligence sources told Reuters news agency that they see no invasion imminent.
USA and NATO Moscow has expressed support for the ways in which Moscow sees it as provocative, including the maneuvering of warships in the Black Sea this month and the delivery of U.S. patrol vessels to the Ukrainian navy.
British Foreign Minister Liz Truss told Reuters on Wednesday that it would be a “serious mistake for Russia” to attack Ukraine.
Russian fighter jets and boats were repelling airstrikes at sea bases and responding with airstrikes in military exercises in the Black Sea on Wednesday, the Interfax news agency reported.
Separately, the news agency Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu cited Russia’s need to further develop its armed forces as promised by “the world’s complicated military and political conditions and the growing activities of NATO countries near Russia’s borders.”
He said that increasing the capabilities of the armed forces, being ready to fight the nuclear forces and strengthening the potential for non-nuclear deterrence are among the priorities.
Shoigu on Tuesday accused U.S. bombers of attempting a nuclear attack on Russia from two different directions earlier this month and complained that the planes were too close to the Russian border, the Pentagon said in compliance with international protocols.
“Special operation” in Ukraine
Ukraine on Wednesday called for a “special operation” on the Belarusian border, including drone drills and military drills against tanks and air units.
It has deployed an additional 8,500 troops to the Belarusian border, saying it feared they would enter the migrant crisis, accusing the European Union of pushing people from the Middle East to Minsk by plane and into neighboring Poland. Belarus denies pushing for the crisis.
Kiev is also concerned that Russia’s border with its close ally Belarus could be used by Russia to carry out a military attack.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence told the Military Times that Russia had more than 92,000 troops deployed on Ukraine’s borders and was preparing for an attack in late January or early February.
Moscow has called these suggestions passionate, that it does not threaten anyone and has defended the right to deploy its troops as it wishes.
Intelligence sources, diplomats and analysts say Moscow could use increasing tensions with Ukraine as part of a broader strategy to put pressure on Europe, including by protecting Belarus from the migrant crisis and using its influence as the continent’s main gas supplier. Rapid regulatory approval of the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline for Germany.
“It is similar to another coercive force that the Russians are accumulating in this strategic situation in Eastern Europe,” said Samir Puri, a leading expert on hybrid warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“It can only serve that purpose, rather than having to continue with a full-scale invasion that would be politically disastrous for Putin.”
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