German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday appealed to Russian Federation and Ukraine to avoid a further escalation in tensions after Moscow accused Kiev of sending “saboteurs” to conduct attacks in annexed Crimea.
Advertisement
Russia would do its utmost to protect Crimea’s stability and security, while Kiev and its foreign supporters would suffer the consequences if any damage were inflicted on the Russian side, the ministry said.
The FSB claimed to have recovered “20 improvised explosive devices with a total explosive power of 40 kg [of] TNT”, along with land mines, grenades and special assault weapons. The FSB has said it is collecting evidence linking the detained Ukrainians with the preparation of “acts of sabotage” on the peninsula who have been named as Evgeny Panov and Andrie Zakhtei and who have both confessed to terrorism charges, the RBC news agency reported.
Ukrainian UN Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, who requested the closed-door meeting of the 15-member council, said Russian Federation had amassed more than 40,000 troops in Crimea, seized by Moscow in 2014, and on the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine, on the other hand, called the accusations false and asked Russian Federation to provide evidence of the claims. He reiterated that the death of Russian military would not remain “without consequences”.
Ukraine’s United Nations mission called for “urgent” Security Council consultations over Russia’s comments on Thursday.
The FSB says that the detained, who are citizens of both Russian Federation and Ukraine, have confessed to their act. However, the “saboteurs” say that they did not intend to detonate them near people; they just planned to blow up various parts of a resort in order to create panic and “destroy tourism”. If Russia did openly invade Ukraine, the militarily complications arising from such an endeavour combined with Russian involvement in a worsening situation in Syria, would make a war with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation practically impossible.
“There may be escalation in eastern Ukraine and that is very unsafe”, Alexei Makarkin, deputy head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies, said by phone Thursday. “This contradicts global law”, said Franz Klintsevich, deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council Defense Committee. He vowed that Russian Federation would respond. According to the Kommersant business daily, additional troops and armored vehicles have already been sent to northern Crimea.
“The temptation is high to try and use this occasion to solve the Ukrainian problem once and for all”, he said.
Ukraine has another Crimean medal contender in rhythmic gymnastics, where Anna Rizatdinova must face the Russian gold medal favorites.
“This issue is not about Crimea, it’s about the Donbass”, noted Suzdaltsev. Also in July, US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Ukraine for talks with Poroshenko, where he reiterated Washington’s support for the Kiev regime’s claims on Crimea.
“Putin in his rhetoric has returned to the start of 2014”.
Russian President is the only one who can take this decision, Medvedev said, recalling cutting off diplomatic ties with Georgia after 2008 in light of its military intervention in South Ossetia and the killing of 15 Russian soldiers from the peacekeeping forces there.
“We have two Russian corpses”. “This news is very alarming, indeed”, Putin said.
Advertisement
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, right, and Oleksandr Turchynov, Head of Ukraine’s Defence and Security Council, chair the Council extraordinary session in Kiev, Ukraine.
