Friday, April 9th, 2021
Because of the situation in eastern Ukraine?
US warships on course for the Black Sea
The situation in Donbass is tense. Both Ukraine and Russia are increasing their troops. Now the US also wants to send two warships through the Bosporus to the region. It is unclear whether there is a connection. Moscow is already threatening.
According to Turkish information, the US wants to send two warships into the Black Sea. The United States has announced the passage through the Bosporus, reports the state news agency Anadolu, citing diplomatic sources. The ships are said to remain in the Black Sea until May 4th. The date of the planned passage was not clear from the report.
The Bosphorus and the Dardanelles connect the Mediterranean with the Black Sea. According to the Treaty of Montreux, Turkey has sovereignty over the two straits. Merchant ships of all countries have free passage in peacetime. There are restrictions on naval vessels.
It is not known whether the passage of the US Navy is related to the current tense situation in eastern Ukraine. Jen Pskai, spokeswoman for US President Joe Biden, recently expressed concern of the US government “over the recently escalating Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine”. There are now more Russian soldiers on the Russian border with Ukraine than there have been since 2014. In addition, five Ukrainian soldiers were killed this week alone.
Russia threatens military action
The Russian government has confirmed that it has concentrated troops in the region. It is about the security of the country, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax agency in Moscow. He also threatened military intervention to protect Russian citizens if fighting broke out in Donbass. Russia will not stand idly by a possible “human catastrophe”, said Peskov. Russian military doctrine allows intervention to protect residents.
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. The Kremlin sees the danger of a new civil war in the neighboring country. “We are now seeing an unprecedented escalation of tensions. This is a cause for concern,” said Peskow. Further developments will determine which measures Russia will take “to ensure its security”.
Reports of troop deployments by the Russian army on the border with the eastern Ukrainian conflict zone had raised fears that the fighting would escalate. Chancellor Angela Merkel only called for troops to be withdrawn there on Thursday during a phone call with President Vladimir Putin. Russia alone decides, said Peskov.
Conflicting parties accuse each other
Meanwhile, another government army soldier was killed in the conflict area. The army did not provide any information about the circumstances. The focus of the violations of the current ceasefire was the section of the front 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 rebels 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. A peace plan agreed in 2015 is on hold.
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