Washington and European countries have intensified coordination in support of Kiev in the face of what it described as the Russian escalation on the borders with Ukraine, where the conflict has escalated during the past days between Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russian separatists.
White House spokeswoman Jane Saki said Washington was coordinating with partners and allies on measures Russia has taken on the Ukrainian border.
In turn, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Blinken also held a call with his German counterpart Heiko Maas, during which they stressed the importance of supporting Ukraine against what he described as unilateral Russian provocations.
On the other hand, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow may take steps to protect civilians from any fighting in eastern Ukraine, describing the situation as unprecedented.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone the developments in Ukraine, and monitored the current situation in the Black Sea according to the "Montreux" agreement.
The Russian embassy in Ankara said that Turkey had informed Moscow, according to the "Montreux" treaty, of the expected transit of American ships towards the Black Sea.
Two American ships
The Al-Jazeera correspondent in Ankara quoted sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry as saying that Ankara was informed, through diplomatic channels, 15 days ago, that two American warships will head to the Black Sea, in accordance with the "Montreux" agreement, and they will remain until the fourth of next May.
This announcement comes after CNN revealed yesterday that Washington is considering sending warships to the Black Sea in the coming weeks to support Kiev, amid the increasing military buildup of the Russian army on the eastern border with Ukraine.
A Kremlin spokesman said today that Russia has the right to move its forces on its territory as it pleases, commenting on a phone call during which German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the military buildup near the border with Ukraine.
It is noteworthy that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Turkey tomorrow, Saturday, to participate in the meeting of the Strategic Cooperation Council, and discuss with his Turkish counterpart the recent developments of the crisis in the Donbas region and the tension between Kiev and Moscow.
Kiev denies
In this context, the Ukrainian army denied its willingness to launch an attack on the Donbas region, which is under the control of the separatists, and said that Kiev does not want civilian and military deaths there.
In a statement on its Facebook account, the Ukrainian Chief of Staff quoted Ukrainian Chief of Staff Ruslan Homchak as asserting that the allegations that his country is preparing to launch an attack in Donbas is a campaign aimed at misleading and distorting the image of Ukraine on the international stage.
He stressed that the priority of politics and diplomacy in resolving the crisis, adding that "liberating Ukrainian lands by force will lead to the death of a large number of civilians and military personnel, and this is unacceptable for Ukraine."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said that Ukraine was considering solving the crisis in the Donbass completely militarily.
Armistice and confrontation
The latest tensions and increased clashes this year with pro-Russian separatists follow a widely respected truce during the second half of 2020.
The war in Donbas began in April 2014 shortly after Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula following a pro-Western uprising in that country.
The conflict has since left more than 13,000 people dead and displaced some 1.5 million people.
The fighting decreased dramatically after the Minsk Peace Accords were reached at the beginning of 2015, but the political process did not advance much after that.