Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his country's opponents against crossing "red lines" against Russia, amid escalating tensions with the West on a number of issues, and in the meantime, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the US deputy ambassador in Moscow.
"I hope that no one thinks about crossing the red lines," Putin said in his annual speech to the two Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, adding that Russia would decide on their own.
The Russian president believed that Moscow had made every effort to establish good relations with other countries, but warned that it would respond quickly and harshly to any foreign "provocations".
Meanwhile, the Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the US deputy ambassador in Moscow.
The US-Russian relations have reached very low levels due to differences and mutual accusations in a number of files, but this did not prevent both parties from confirming their desire for dialogue, and US President Joe Biden suggested holding a bilateral summit with his Russian counterpart in a third country.
One of the most prominent points of tension is the situation in eastern Ukraine, as Washington, Kiev and Brussels have expressed fears of a military escalation, indicating that Moscow may be considered a pretext to enter Ukraine, as happened in 2014 when it annexed the Crimean peninsula.
The warning of military escalation
In this context, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuliba said on Tuesday that Russia will soon have more than 120,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine, and said that he discussed with his American counterpart Anthony Blinken the need to provide some specific and urgent needs of the Ukrainian army.
On the other hand, the American Wall Street Journal published satellite images of Russian military equipment near Ukraine and the Crimea peninsula.
The newspaper reported that Russia has transferred warplanes to the peninsula and military bases near Ukraine more than previously disclosed.
The pictures showed, according to the newspaper, other Russian military units on the peninsula, including air forces, armored units, helicopters and drones.
On the other hand, the Russian Information Agency today quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are continuing military preparations, calling on them to refrain from actions that may lead to an escalation.