European High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell speaks at a video conference meeting with EU Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in Ukraine at the European Council in Brussels, Belgium on 19 April 2021. Francois Walschaerts / Pool via REUTERS
EU top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday that after EU foreign ministers were briefed by Ukraine’s foreign minister, Russia had concentrated more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s border and in annexed Crimea.
“There are more than 150,000 Russian troops marching on the Ukrainian borders and on the Crimea. The risk of further escalation is clear,” Borrell said, refusing to provide a source for the figure.
He said that for the time being no new economic sanctions or expulsions of Russian diplomats were planned, despite the fact that the military build – up on Ukraine’s borders was the largest ever.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on the EU to impose new sanctions on Russia following a speech by EU foreign ministers.
Tensions between Moscow and Kiev have escalated amid military build-up and clashes in eastern Ukraine between the army and pro-Russian separatists.
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