Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said earlier on Wednesday it had dismantled a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, detaining both Russian and Ukrainian nationals involved in preparing terrorist attacks on the peninsula.
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In the early hours of Monday, it said Ukraine had attempted to infiltrate two groups of saboteurs into Crimea by force, but the FSB and other agencies repelled the attempts. An FSB employee and a Russian soldier were killed in the clashes at the weekend, it said.
Russian Federation annexed the peninsula in March of 2014 following a revolution in Kiev, leading to a collapse in relations between the two countries and a violent conflict in southeast Ukraine.
Ukraine is accused of trying to destabilise Crimea in the run-up to elections in the territory and Russian Federation in September.
Holding a Normandy Four meeting with Ukraine, Germany and France on settling the Ukrainian conflict at the upcoming G20 summit in China would be futile given the uncovering of a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, the Russian president said.
The FSB also said it had arrested a number of Russian and Ukrainian citizens suspected of plotting attacks, including one identified as a Ukrainian intelligence officer from the southern Zaporizhzhya region.
Russia’s security service on Wednesday said it had thwarted “terrorist attacks” in Crimea by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back an armed assault, but Kiev denied the claims.
The NATO official said Thursday that “Russia’s recent military activity in Crimea is not helpful for easing tensions”.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry denied the FSB’s report that Ukraine’s special forces had attempted an armed incursion into Crimea’s territory, Reuters reported on August 10.
Russia’s border with Ukraine has been reinforced and security at places of mass gathering and key infrastructure facilities in Crimea has been stepped up.
“The attempts to break through were accompanied by massive covering fire from the neighbouring state and from Ukrainian armoured vehicles”.
“This attempt to cause an outbreak of violence (…) is a very risky game”, said Putin at a press conference in Moscow, referring to the upcoming implementation of “significant additional measures” to ensure the security of the peninsula.
US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt also disputed Russia’s claims, saying on his Twitter account that: “Russia has a record of frequently levying false accusations at Ukraine to deflect attention from its own illegal actions”. Ukraine has accused Russian Federation of backing separatists in southeast Ukraine with men and materiel, including army units.
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Renewed tensions around Crimea follow a surge of violence between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian and Russian-backed forces fight nightly battles despite a nominal ceasefire.
