The Federal Security Service also said “an agent network” of Ukrainian intelligence had been eliminated in the territory of Crimea and Ukrainians and Russians “who assisted in the preparation of the terrorist attacks” had been detained.
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Russian Federation annexed the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum.
The move sparked Russia-backed separatists to begin fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine, where deadly battles are still ongoing.
Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko and the country’s Foreign Ministry have rejected Moscow’s accusations, qualifying as a provocation the detention of saboteurs in Crimea.
Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine on Wednesday of using terrorist tactics to try to provoke a new conflict and destabilize annexed Crimea after Russian Federation said it had thwarted two armed Ukrainian attempts to get saboteurs into the contested peninsula.
The Ukrainian military presence at the border with Crimea has been stepped up after President Poroshenko ordered high combat readiness, said the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, Viktor Muzhenko.
Since Ukraine joined the council in January, it has held only one meeting on the crisis in the country.
The agency also said that two more groups tried to force their way into Crimea early Monday, supported by Ukrainian artillery and armor.
On Thursday morning, Mr Putin convened his security council to discuss “additional security measures to ensure the safety of citizens and vital infrastructure in Crimea”, the Kremlin said.
“We want to warn Kiev and its Western sponsors that the losses incurred to the Russian side, the death of Russian servicemen, will not remain without consequences”, a ministry statement said. Such an escalation could be used by Putin to demand better terms in the Ukraine peace process, or to inflame nationalist passions at home ahead of Russian parliamentary elections next month.
While local media and social media users have largely corroborated reports of a shootout at the Crimean border, independent accounts of the second border incident reported by the FSB were missing. It is argued that “the attempts to breakthrough were covered with heavy shelling from Ukraine”, and a Russian enforcer was killed during the exchange of fire.
The spokesman for Ukraine’s border guards also said Russian Federation had amassed more troops in recent days equipped with more modern equipment on Ukraine’s border with the Crimean region.
“This is very alarming news”, Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday, according to RFE/RL.
One FSB officer was killed during the operation to detain the terrorists.
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A North Atlantic Treaty Organisation official says the USA -led alliance is deeply concerned by rising tensions between Russian Federation and Ukraine and is monitoring the situation closely. Ukraine’s president has orde.
