Russia confirms deployment of its troops near Ukrainian border

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Thursday that Russia is building up armed forces near Ukraine’s borders.

The deployment of the additional Russian troops across the country should not concern other states since this does not pose any threat to them, said Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“The Russian Federation deploys the Armed Forces on its soil as it wants to. This should not concern anyone and this is not posing any threat to anyone,” Peskov added.

Moscow is taking “all the necessary measures to ensure the security of its frontiers,” he stressed. Peskov noted that “the Russian troops have never taking part and are not participating in armed conflicts on Ukraine’s soil.”

Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Ruslan Khomchak said on Tuesday that Russia is building up armed forces near Ukraine’s borders in a threat to the country’s security, accusing Moscow of pursuing an “aggressive policy” towards Kyiv.

In remarks to parliament, Khomchak also accused pro-Moscow separatists of systematically violating a ceasefire in the conflict in eastern Ukraine agreed in July 2020.

On top of that, the U.S. military’s European Command raised its watch level from possible crisis to potential imminent crisis — the highest level — in response to the deployment of the additional Russian troops.

European monitors have spotted new weaponry on the Russian-backed side in recent weeks. Artillery fire has become more frequent.

Video footage, some of which is seen below, circulated widely on social media purportedly showing Russian military convoys and trains loaded with large amounts of military hardware, including tanks and other heavy armored vehicles, as well as heavy artillery, which were toward the country’s borders with Ukraine.