Russia-Ukraine: What is happening on the joint border?

In recent days, the rhetoric of Kiev and a number of Western capitals, including Washington, regarding the growth of Russian military activity on the borders with Ukraine has sharply escalated. Moscow is accused of an excessive concentration of troops in the Crimea and on the border with the rebel Donbass, writes Alex Ivanov, Moscow correspondent.

"The United States is recording the largest number of Russian troops near the borders of Ukraine since 2014," White House press Secretary Jen Psaki said recently. 

President Biden also expressed his "concern" about this situation in his last telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin.

But is this really the case?

German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Presidents of France and Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Zelensky, at trilateral talks last week called on Russia to curtail the build-up of troops near the borders of Ukraine, German Cabinet spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

"The Federal Chancellor, President Macron and President Zelensky discussed in particular the security situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border, as well as in the east of Ukraine. They share concerns about the growing Russian military presence on the border with Ukraine, as well as in the annexed Crimea. They demanded the curtailment of this military reinforcement in order to achieve a de-escalation of the situation, " Seibert told reporters.

Merkel and Macron also stressed their support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. "They stressed the need for full implementation of the Minsk Agreements on both sides and stated that Germany and France will continue their efforts in the Normandy format," Seibert added.

Western states have recently expressed concern about the alleged increase in" aggressive actions " on the part of Russia in Ukraine. Washington announced the escalation of “Russian aggression" and the movement of Russian troops in the Crimea and on the eastern border of Ukraine.

At the same time the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said that Russia moves troops within its territory and at its discretion. According to him, this “does not threaten anyone and should not worry anyone”. In addition, Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict and is interested in Kiev overcoming the political and economic crisis.

Moscow is really perplexed that the West is so persistently demonstrating its irritation with the movement of Russian troops on its sovereign territory. At the same time, as many Russian politicians and parliamentarians emphasize, in Europe and America they prefer not to notice the massive build-up of troops and heavy weapons by the Ukrainian army on the borders with the Donbass. This, as it is known, contradicts the well-known obligations of the Ukrainian side, which directly follow from the Minsk Agreements.

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