Government troops have killed five rebels according to Bloomberg News, and in response to the attack Russia started new military drills near the Ukrainian border. The agreement reached to disarm rebels that was signed last week in Geneva by Ukraine, Russia, the European Union and the U.S. is now on the brink of collapse.
President Vladimir Putin said in St. Petersburg, according to Bloomberg News that, “If it’s true that the current regime in Kiev sent the army against citizens inside its country, then it is a very serious crime against its own nation.” He also said that “It will have consequences for the people who make such decisions, including relations between our countries. We’ll see how the situation develops and we’ll make conclusions based on the reality on the ground.”
Czech President Milos Zeman said at a meeting of east European leaders in Prague that “Ukraine is at risk of a foreign invasion, or a civil war, or both at the same time.” Milos Zeman said that according to Bloomberg News, “The older among us experienced something similar about 20 years ago in Yugoslavia.”
According to NATO, President Vladimir Putin has parliamentary approval to deploy troops in Ukraine to protect Russian speakers and those of Russian heritage. According to Bloomberg News, Russia’s latest drills are in response to events in eastern Ukraine and involve warplanes near the border. In an interview with state-run broadcaster RT, speaking in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that “An attack on a Russian citizen is an attack against Russia and “if we’re attacked, we’d certainly respond.”
According to a report by Bloomberg News, The U.S. has already begun to deploy hundreds of troops for exercises in Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All four of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies border Russia.
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