President Vladimir Putin told UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday that NATO is threatening Russia by expanding its military activities in Ukraine.
The two leaders spoke by phone. The Russian said the troop movements on his side of the border, seen by the West as a harbinger of an invasion by his neighbour, are a reaction to what he perceives as a threat.
“All of this is taking place against a backdrop of expanding military activity on the territory of Ukraine and NATO, creating a direct threat to Russian security,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The British government said that Boris had reiterated “the UK’s commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and that any destabilizing action will have serious consequences.” An invasion, the leader said, would be a mistake.
The prime minister was “deeply concerned” with the concentration of around 100,000 soldiers from rapid action battalions in nearby regions of eastern Ukraine, a region that since 2014 has been dominated by pro-Russian separatists.
The troop move, the second of its kind this year, has sparked accusations by the United States and its partners in the Western military alliance that Putin intends to be ready to invade Ukraine, supposedly in support of the rebels.
The Kremlin denies the intent and aims to supply Western weapons to the Ukrainians, in addition to constant NATO military exercises with Kiev forces. American and European fear have precedents.
Nearly eight years ago, Putin annexed Crimea when a coup toppled the pro-Russian government in Kiev. As a result, it supported the separatists, generating a civil war that has now been frozen, but which has already killed more than 14,000 people.
Now, everything indicates that Putin wants to solve the case, bringing the government of Joe Biden to a crisis that until now was centered in Europe. The two presidents talked about the issue last week, and the Russian will present a plan for mutual guarantees.
Putin wants NATO to commit to not absorbing Ukraine and other countries that acted as a buffer between the West and Russian territory in Soviet times, such as Georgia. Not by chance, Russia fought a brief war against the tiny country of the Caucasus in 2008.
Russian geopolitical thought is premised on the so-called strategic depth, not accepting opposing forces so close to their lands. Furthermore, as in the case of the ally Belarus, Ukraine is a country with a strong cultural and historical connection with Russia.
On the West side, the pressure continues. At a meeting of European chancellors in Brussels, also on Monday, the tone was one of unity against what they call Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Echoing what the US, NATO and the G7 had declared earlier, the bloc claimed that Putin’s eventual invasion of the country would be met with “political consequences and high economic cost” for Moscow.
Also on Monday, the Russian private military group Wagner suffered a package of sanctions by the EU (European Union), which were also extended to eight people linked to it.
The group is notorious for its actions in Ukraine, Syria and African countries. Mercenaries are often used by Moscow in order to conceal the Kremlin’s action and to minimize the impact of regular soldiers’ deaths.
According to the EU, Wagner is responsible for human rights abuses. The measures are more symbolic as they include travel restrictions and asset freezes for persons of secondary importance.
There are already similar sanctions against the man considered to be the group’s hidden chief, Yevgeny Prigojin, “Putin’s chef” for having been responsible for the Kremlin’s food services. He, who is close to the president, denies the call.
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