CNN quoted a US Defense Department official as saying that his country is considering sending warships to the Black Sea in the coming weeks to show its support for Ukraine in exchange for the increased Russian military presence on its eastern borders.
And the US official believed that sending the warships would be a special message to Moscow that Washington is monitoring the situation closely.
The same source stated that the US Navy aircraft continue their reconnaissance flights in the international airspace over the Black Sea to monitor Russian maritime activity and the movements of Russian forces in the Crimea. He also confirmed that two B-1 bombers were flying over the Aegean Sea on Monday. Wednesday.
In the same context, White House spokeswoman Jane Saki warned during a press conference Thursday to what Washington considers an escalating Russian aggression, and said that "the number of Russian forces now on the border with Ukraine is greater than at any time since 2014 ″, referring to the period that included Where Russia is the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine.
Saki said that the United States is discussing with its partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) concerns about regional tension and violations of the ceasefire.
Russian warnings
On the other hand, Konstantin Kosachev, Vice President of the Russian Federation Council (the upper chamber of the country's legislative body) said that any US military support for Ukraine would encourage it to use force in the Donbas region, a front that has recently flared up again between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces.
Commenting on the news of the possibility of sending American ships to the Black Sea, Kosachev said that encouraging Kiev to wage war on the southeast regions of the country would have "unfortunate consequences" for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
And Andrey Krasov, deputy head of the Security and Defense Committee of the Russian Federation Council, said that the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the forces stationed in the Crimea are capable of repelling "any aggression" by the United States or Ukraine.
Ukraine had expressed concern about the increase in Russian military reinforcements near its eastern borders with the escalation of violence along the line separating its forces from the pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region.
Russia has said that its forces do not pose any threat and play a defensive role, and that they will remain as long as it deems it necessary.
A senior Kremlin official said Thursday that Moscow might under certain circumstances be forced to defend its citizens in Donbas, and that any major hostilities could herald the beginning of the end for Ukraine as a state.
Talks between Merkel and Putin
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call Thursday to withdraw Russian military reinforcements in eastern Ukraine to stop the escalation of the situation, according to a statement by the German government.
For his part, the Kremlin said that Putin referred to "provocative actions by Kiev" in the phone call, and said they "intentionally inflame the situation."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the eastern Donbas region on Thursday, where he inspected the army, two days after he called on NATO to develop a plan for Ukraine to join the alliance, a measure that Moscow strongly opposes.