The Russian army was preparing to carry out new maneuvers on the Ukrainian border on Friday, despite talks aimed at lowering tensions between Kiev and Moscow, which Westerners accuse of preparing a military aggression.
Read alsoCrisis in Ukraine: high-risk maneuvers in Belarus
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced in a press release that 400 soldiers would take part on Friday in a "
tactical exercise
" in the southern region of Rostov, bordering Ukraine.
Some 70 military vehicles including tanks, as well as drones will be used in these maneuvers during which the soldiers will train for "
combat missions
", according to the same source.
These exercises are part of a context of high tension around Ukraine, on whose borders Russia has massed more than 100,000 soldiers and heavy weapons.
The United States accuses Moscow of preparing an imminent invasion, which Russia denies, while conditioning any de-escalation on a list of demands deemed unacceptable by Westerners.
In particular, Russia is asking for guarantees excluding any future membership of Ukraine in NATO.
Several sessions of talks aimed at resolving this crisis have so far failed to ease tensions.
Russia, on the contrary, has multiplied the demonstrations of force in recent days.
Read also“Considering Putin’s precedents, a Russian attack on Ukraine is likely”
On Thursday, several tens of thousands of Russian soldiers thus began large-scale exercises in Belarus, a country neighboring Ukraine, which should in theory last until February 20.
And on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said naval maneuvers were held in the Black Sea.
The Russian ships conducted a “
search and destroy enemy buildings
” exercise, the ministry said.
Russia already annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014 and has been supporting pro-Moscow separatists militarily and financially who have been fighting Kiev forces in eastern Ukraine since the same year.
Several European officials have marched in recent days in Moscow and Kiev to lower tensions.
