Ukraine’s defence minister said on Saturday Russia had “recently” brought 6,000 additional personnel into Ukraine and that the Ukrainian military were on high alert in the Crimea region.
Ihor Tenyukh gave no further details in comments to reporters in Kiev.
The Ukrainian government has accused Moscow of deploying troops in Crimea, where Russia’s Black Sea fleet has a base, but Russia says it has not violated an agreement with Ukraine that covers its forces there.
On the other hand the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that Moscow is “extremely concerned” about the recent developments in Ukraine’s Crimea, which it said confirm the desire of Kiev’s politicians to destabilise the situation on the peninsula.
“In Russia, we are extremely concerned about the recent developments in Crimea,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We believe it is extremely irresponsible to further pressure the already tense situation in the Crimea,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Send to Kindle