NATO's Stoltenberg: Russian Moves Against Ukraine Are Costly
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In a meeting in Brussels today, the NATO Secretary-General warns Russia that any move against Ukraine will incur "costs".
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Stoltenberg sounds the alarm against Russia.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg issued a warning that Russia has assembled artillery, tanks, and troops near the Ukraine border, and that any move from Moscow will be costly.
"If Russia uses force against Ukraine that will have costs, that would have consequences," Stoltenberg said in Belgium.
A few days ago, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced that Russia had mobilized about 100,000 fighters on the borders of Ukraine.
"This is the second time this year that Russia has amassed a large and unusual concentration of forces in the region," Stoltenberg said, adding that Russia's intensification of military activity near Ukraine "is not justified by anything and fuels tension," calling on Russia to "show transparency."
Today, November 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine is ready for any Russian escalation and claimed that Russians and Ukrainians alike are conspiring to overthrow the government in the coming week.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with NATO foreign ministers, are to meet in Latvia on the 30th of November to discuss Russia's latest advancements.
The US Defense Department said that it has been monitoring Russia's military activity on the border.
Since the 2014 coup in Kiev, crippling political tensions have been in the air between Russia and Ukraine. The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, since, has seen military and political crises, which also spilled onto Crimea, inhabited by a Russian majority. In March 2014, a referendum was held and resulted in the favoring of returning Crimea to Russia.
On Russia's side, Moscow repeatedly contended that it does not plan military intervention in Ukrainian territory and stressed its right to operate and mobilize its military forces only within its territory. Russian Foreign Intelligence Service denied Western accusations that Moscow was planning to "invade Ukraine."
"The Americans are painting a frightening picture of hordes of Russian tanks that will start to crush Ukrainian cities, saying they have some ‘reliable information' of such Russian intentions," the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service said in a rare statement to Russian news agencies.
