![]() “I reaffirmed our unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and Euro-Atlantic aspirations,” Austin said on Twitter. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Taran, and “condemned recent escalations of Russian aggressive and provocative actions in eastern Ukraine,” the Pentagon said. NATO said it was concerned about the Russian military build-up as NATO ambassadors met to discuss a recent spike in violence in the eastern Donbass region, where Ukrainian troops have battled Russian-backed separatist forces in a conflict Kyiv estimates has killed 14,000 people since 2014. Relations are further strained by the fate of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, which Kyiv and Washington want to halt, and by a crackdown in Ukraine on a prominent businessman close to Russia. Moscow and Kyiv have long accused each other of failing to implement a peace deal over Donbass. “We cannot exclude that Biden’s presidency is part of the Russian calculus, that it’s time for Moscow to show a bit of muscle.” “Partly, it is the usual tactics, turning up and down the conflict to create instability, to show that Russia is a key player,” said one EU diplomat. The top Pentagon general called counterparts in Russia and Ukraine Wednesday (31 March) as the US Defense Department expressed concerns about a reported buildup of Russian troops along Ukraine’s border and in Crimea. Top US general calls Russia, Ukraine amid reported Moscow troop buildup ![]()
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