MOSCOW – The recent deployment of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine and the indication by Moscow that it could intervene in the event of a full-scale war in eastern Ukraine fades hopes of a peaceful solution to the conflict that has plagued all seven years of festivity and thousands of food lives.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Russia had the right to move its forces across its territory at its discretion and that it was merely taking precautions in the face of the “dangerous, explosive region on its borders” with Eastern Ukraine.
Mr. Peskov warned that the situation on the contact line was extremely unstable and said “the dynamics … create the danger that a full-scale hostility will resume.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of resuming “dangerous provocative actions” in its eastern Donbas region, in a call on Friday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a Kremlin lecture.
Tensions continued between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists following a recent increase in fighting along the border in Ukraine, where Kiev said several of its soldiers were killed last week.