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Kiev / Moscow (dpa) - In view of the escalation in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russia has threatened military intervention to protect its citizens.
In the event of a flare-up of fighting, Russia will not stand by and stand by a possible “human catastrophe”, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in Moscow on Friday, according to the Interfax agency.
Russia will take measures to protect its citizens.
The country's military doctrine allows intervention to protect Russian citizens abroad.
Moscow has been granting Russian citizenship to the Russian-speaking residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine since 2019, despite international protests.
More than 400,000 people there have Russian citizenship.
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The Kremlin sees the danger of a new civil war in the neighboring country.
“We are now seeing an unprecedented escalation in tensions.
That raises concern, ”said Peskow.
Further developments will determine what measures Russia will take "to ensure its security," said Peskov.
The Ukrainian army chief Ruslan Khomchak announced that the Ukrainian military was not planning an attack on the separatists in the east.
This would "inevitably lead to the death of a large number of civilians and casualties among those doing military service" and was therefore unacceptable.
Reports of troop deployments by the Russian army on the border with the eastern Ukrainian conflict zone had heightened fears that the conflict could escalate.
Chancellor Angela Merkel only called for troops to be withdrawn there on Thursday during a phone call with President Vladimir Putin.
Peskov said that Russia alone would decide.
There is a concentration of Russian troops in the region because the security of the country is at stake.
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Meanwhile, Turkey reported that the US wanted to send two warships into the Black Sea.
Ankara was informed of the passage through the Bosphorus Strait 15 days ago via diplomatic channels, said a spokeswoman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
The ships were supposed to stay in the Black Sea until May 4th.
The passage should take place between April 14th and 15th.
Moscow sees this as a provocation.
"Any military support for Ukraine means encouraging Kiev to use military force in the southeast," said foreign policy expert Konstantin Kosachev.
The spokeswoman for US President Joe Biden had previously said that there were now more Russian soldiers on the Russian border with Ukraine than there have been since 2014.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj wants to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey this Saturday.
According to the Ukrainian media, Zelenskyi is also planning a meeting with his French colleague Emmanuel Macron.
Germany and France have been mediating in the conflict for years.
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Putin called Erdogan on Friday, the Kremlin announced.
Putin stressed that only the 2015 peace plan could be the basis for an end to the conflict.
Ukraine continues to evade implementation, it said.
Meanwhile, another government army soldier was killed in the conflict area.
The army initially gave no information about the circumstances.
The main focus of the violations of the current ceasefire was the front section at the former Donetsk airport.
Both sides blamed each other for the escalation.
For almost seven years, parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions along the Russian border have been under the control of separatists loyal to Moscow.
According to UN estimates, more than 13,000 people have been killed since then.
Around 50 people have died in the conflict area since the beginning of the year alone.
The peace plan agreed in 2015 is on hold.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210409-99-143584 / 3
Communication, Ukrainian