Russia: Ukraine violating 2015 cease-fire deal
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister says Ukraine "stubbornly" refuses to implement the provisions of the Minsk Agreements.
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin.
Russia accused Ukraine on Thursday of repeatedly violating a 2015 cease-fire agreement aimed at bringing peace to the Donbas region and called the claims that it planned to invade Ukraine "baseless".
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told the UN Security Council that "Ukraine stubbornly refuses to implement the provisions of the Minsk Agreements."
Vershinin accused Kyiv of repeated attacks on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, causing "thousands of victims."
"Ukrainian representatives keep coming up with new excuses not to implement their agreements," he said.
Vershinin: Attempts to blame Russia futile, baseless
The diplomat affirmed that "attempts to place the blame on Russia are futile and baseless" and aim at "shifting the blame away from Ukraine."
He also rejected the US and its European allies' "baseless" claims that Moscow is seeking to fabricate a pretext to invade Ukraine.
"I think we have had enough speculation on that," he expressed.
Biden: Risk of Russian "invasion" is very high
This comes as US President Joe Biden warned Thursday that "the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is very high," adding that a diplomatic solution with Russia to the Ukrainian crisis is still possible.
In a press conference, he stated that a Russian invasion could happen "in the coming days," noting that he had "no intention" of contacting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Zakharova: Washington accused of spreading lies about Ukraine
Several Western countries have accused Russia in recent months of preparing an "attack in Ukraine," based on allegations that Russia has increased the number of its soldiers in areas near the Ukrainian border to 125,000 people.
For its part, Moscow rejects all these accusations, noting that the transfer of its forces in its territory is an internal matter.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, accused the US of "running the media campaign about the so-called (imminent Russian invasion) of Ukraine."
