KREMLIN grandmaster President Vladimir Putin was playing a dangerous gambit last night as he threatened to edge the Ukraine conflict towards a full-blown war.
TENSION: Ukraine policeman and tank with soldiers at a checkpoint near Slaviansk[GETTY]Russia stacked up the tension by warning that it will send in troops to “rescue” seized Western hostages held by pro-Moscow rebels.
The incredible excuse to flex military might came from the Russian envoy to the international monitoring organisation, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
He apparently warned that Moscow was ready to take all steps to free German, Swedish and Danish observers seized in the eastern rebel stronghold city of Slaviansk.
Separatists loyal to Russia detained the OSCE observers earlier in the week, claiming the party, which was accompanied by Ukrainian military officers, were really Nato spies.
They showed off military identification cards and insignia which they claim were taken from the detainees.
OSCE described the detainees as “human shields” and said they were being kept under appalling conditions, with one of the hostages in urgent need of medical attention.
The pro-Russian leader in eastern Ukraine, Vyacheslav Ponomarev, self?proclaimed “people’s mayor of Slaviansk”, insisted they were military officers from Nato member states.
He said: “As we found maps on them containing information about the location of our checkpoints, we get the impression that they are officers carrying out a certain spying mission.”
He made his claims after visiting a city church to pay respects to a rebel killed in a shootout with Ukraine forces last week.
As he spoke, two Ukrainian military helicopters circled overhead a few miles from the city and a column of at least five armoured personnel carriers patrolled country roads.
Dozens of troops in black fatigues could be seen stopping drivers, frisking passengers and inspecting vehicles for weapons.
The priority now must be avoiding escalation and securing conditions in which upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine can take place without the risk of further violence
Russia was also visible in displaying its own military might.
While German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen warned that “all diplomatic channels” should be used to free the team “immediately and unhurt”, Russian war planes made repeated incursions inside Ukraine. To create more tension, more than 40,000 troops were camped across the border on full alert under the guise of “military exercises”.
Tensions have heightened over the past 72 hours after Kiev finally took action against the rebels, sending in counter-terrorist forces to clear them from their Slaviansk stronghold, killing five in the shootout.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov later accused Kiev of waging “war on their own people”.
He said: “This is a bloody crime and those who pushed the army to do that will pay, I am sure, and will face justice.”
The West’s reaction to the simmering belligerency inside the Kremlin has been to warn it is ready to impose the most draconian economic sanctions since Russia annexed Crimea.
Leaders of the G7 major economies, which include Britain, have agreed to put more financial pressures on President Putin’s “cronies” to start diffusing the situation that, according to Kiev, has the potential to escalate into a third world war.
In a joint statement, the G7 leaders accused Russia of failing to heed the Geneva accord signed earlier this month that was intended to rein in illegal armed gangs operating in eastern Ukraine. It said: “Instead, it has continued to escalate tensions.”
Sanctions could come into effect as early as tomorrow, with US Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes warning they will have a “significant impact”.
That is something President Putin admitted last week when he said that Russia was suffering difficulties, although they were not “critical”.
A financial ratings cut by the Standard and Poor’s agency on Friday would make it more expensive for Russia to borrow money.
EU officials were also last night discussing how to counter any threat from Moscow to cut gas supplies to the West.
Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said: “After signing the Geneva accord earlier this month, Russia has since failed to act on its commitments within the agreement and has taken no public steps to help de-escalate the situation.
“Given Russia’s continued actions, the G7 is right to now prepare broader measures in order to increase the economic and financial cost to Russia of its actions in support of the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine.
“As a set of specific measures are outlined in the days ahead, the UK Government should ensure that those further steps are coordinated effectively by EU and G7 countries.
“The priority now must be avoiding escalation and securing conditions in which upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine can take place without the risk of further violence.”
No comments:
Post a Comment