KYIV (UKRAINE) – The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia slammed the military escalation by Russia in eastern Ukraine, and reiterated that Moscow eases tensions in the region and gets back to negotiations.
Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba said it was important to show Russia that the fact that the escalation in the Donbass region has become intense would have “very painful” consequences for it.
Kuleba said at a joint news conference with the Baltics ministers in Kyiv, “Today, the four of us can firmly declare that we condemn the exacerbation of the situation by Russia, the actions and statements of Moscow aimed at escalating tensions.”
“The world is on the side of Ukraine and international law, and this is one of the elements of restraining Russia from reckless actions,” he added.
The United States and NATO allies have been in a state of surprise with the large buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Kyiv in 2014.
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Joe Biden called on Russia to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border to de-escalate the situation in the region.