MOSCOW – The recent deployment of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border and Moscow’s indication that it could intervene in the event of a large-scale war in eastern Ukraine lower hopes for a peaceful resolution of the conflict which for seven years has cost thousands of lives.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Russia had the right to move its forces through its territory at its discretion and simply took precautions given the “dangerous and explosive region on its borders” with the is from Ukraine.
Peskov warned that the situation at the contact line was extremely unstable and said that “the dynamics … create the danger of a resumption of large-scale hostilities.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of resuming “dangerous provocative actions” in the eastern Donbas region, in a call on Friday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a Kremlin reading.
Tensions have continued to rise between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists following a recent escalation of fighting along the demarcation line in Ukraine, where Kiev said several soldiers were killed last week.