Conflict in Ukraine: Russia deploys its fleet on the outskirts of Crimea
A Russian frigate.
(Drawing).
AFP - -
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
The verbal and diplomatic escalation continues between Ukraine and Russia, while Dmitri Kozak, in charge of the Donbass file with Vladimir Putin, warned that Russia could have to "
defend
" separatists in the event of a Ukrainian military operation major and that a military escalation would be "
the beginning of the end for the Ukrainian state
".
However, it is indeed Russia which seems to be increasing its pressure on the Ukrainian border, and not only in the Donbass, but also at sea. Because on Thursday April 8, Russia sent a combat fleet to the outskirts of Crimea, and very close to the Ukrainian coast.
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Ukraine and Russia have 2,000 kilometers of common border and, on the Russian side, there is
military reinforcement
in all directions.
In Kiev, concerns are directed towards the southern flank, that of the Crimea, but also the entire seafront, on the Black Sea.
On Thursday, April 8, the press service of the Russian army confirmed that a fleet of ten gunboats and landing craft was transported to the Black Sea from the Baltic Sea.
The Russian Navy of course mentions exercises, this is how the Kremlin describes the situation at the border, while for many military specialists, Russia has not massed so many troops around Ukraine since 2015.
Bluff or preparations for a major offensive, it is still too early to know.
But Pavel Felgenhauer, a renowned independent Russian military expert who predicted the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, believes that a conflict will erupt in the spring, in southern Ukraine, and that this time it will be an amphibious war on the Ukrainian coast, reports our correspondent in Kiev,
Stéphane Siohan
.
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To read also: Russia / Ukraine: the fear of a new war
Two US warships to cross the Bosphorus into the Black Sea
The United States will send two warships to the Black Sea via the Bosphorus Strait, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
The two ships will cross the Bosphorus separately on April 14 and 15 respectively towards the Black Sea and on May 4 and 5 in the opposite direction, a source from the ministry told Agence France Presse.
The announcement of the next shipment of US warships comes on the eve of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Turkey to meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ukraine rules out military offensive against pro-Russian separatists
Ukraine on Friday ruled out any military offensive against pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, where deadly clashes have increased in recent weeks.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Ruslan Khomtchak stressed that Kiev supports a “
political and diplomatic
” solution to recover the territories that have escaped it since the start of this conflict in 2014. He has moreover denounced as "
a campaign of deformation
" piloted by Russia "
reports
" saying that Kiev was preparing an offensive, while the Ukrainians accuse Moscow of massing its troops at its borders.
According to Ukraine, the Kremlin could be looking for a pretext to launch a major military operation.
(and with AFP)
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