Russia further beefed up its military posture on Ukraine’s borders over the weekend, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Monday, despite Moscow’s announcement that some military drills would end.
Russian President Vladimir Putin”has ample abilities at its disposal“, Mr. Kirby told CNN. “It continues to send additional forces along this border with Ukraine, including over the weekend, and it has well over 100,000.“.
Olaf Scholz urges Russia to seize ‘offers of dialogue’
On the European side, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russia on Monday in Kiev to seize the “dialog offers“intended to lead to a de-escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.
“Russia’s military activities on the Ukrainian border are not understandable. There are no reasonable grounds for such a military deployment. And we ask Russia to seize the existing offers of dialogue“, declared Mr. Scholz during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the eve of a trip to Moscow.
The Ukrainian President affirmed for his part that a Ukraine’s NATO membership “would guarantee our safety“. “We understand that NATO membership would guarantee our security and our territorial sovereignty.“, a déclaré M. Zelensky.
