Ukraine’s foreign minister has blasted the Russian decision to start military manoeuvres along Ukraine’s border and said his country will fight any invading troops.
Andriy Deshchytisa said Russia’s decision to launch the military exercises “very much escalates the situation in the region”.
Mr Deshchytisa said his country has been taught a lesson by Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. He said “having this experience, we will now fight with Russian troops if . . . they invade Ukraine”. He said the “Ukrainian people and army are ready to do this”.
Mr Deshchytisa said the Russian military exercises are taking place “closer to the Ukrainian border than it was planned earlier” and demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops.
Earlier, Ukrainian forces moved in and killed at least two pro-Russia insurgents in the country’s east, an escalation that prompted new threats from Russian president Vladimir Putin. Russia’s defence minister said troops near Ukraine’s border were starting new military exercises.
The statements by Mr Putin and defence minister Sergei Shoigu sharpened anxiety over the prospect of a Russian military incursion into Ukraine.
