The United States (U.S.) on Friday raised alarm over the escalation of tension, saying that Russia has deployed estimated number of 130,000 soldiers, and assembled dozens of combat brigades.
Russia on Thursday rolled its tanks across Belarus for live-fire drills. The U.S. expressed concerns that about 30,000 soldiers participated in the military drills carried out at locations that included Russia’s Far East.
Russia also deployed six warships through the Bosphorus for naval drills on the Black Sea and the neighboring Sea of Azov.
U.S. Secretary of States Blinken expressed serious concerns, “Simply put, we continue to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation.”
Some international Observers were of the view that the gathering of Russian forces on three of Ukraine’s flanks us the largest show of force since the Soviet Army marched on Berlin at the end of World War II.
Ukraine had cried out the presence of the Russian army in those locations is an “unprecedented” attempt to cut off Ukraine from both seas.
Ukraine had conducted counter military drills to dismiss Russia’s military exercises, but there were the feelings that the counter drills were little and insignificant to the mounting fear of escalating tensions.
In the diplomatic negotiations with European leaders, Russia requested written guarantees that NATO will withdraw its presence from Eastern Europe and never expand into Ukraine.
The U.S. and its European allies officially rejected Russia’s demands; this has been worsening the tension of military hostilities in Ukraine.
Blinken had declared: the United States “would strongly prefer to resolve the differences” with Russia “through diplomacy”.
“We’ve made every possible effort to engage Russia.
“But at the same time, we’ve been very clear in building deterrence and building defense and making it clear to Russia that if it chooses the path of renewed aggression, it will face massive consequences.”
Lavrov had expressed that he was “disappointed” by the talks. He declared that the military drills and the movement of troops across Russia’s own territory had spurred “incomprehensible alarm and quite strong emotions from our British counterparts and other Western representatives”.
President Emmanuel Macron of France, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UK diplomats have been having sleepless nights holding consultations and talks on de-escalating the tension and averting war with Russia.
While the U.S. is building up military arsenal in readiness for war with Russia, mobilizing the Western allies, China and North Korea have been silent and watching with curiosity.