WASHINGTON: The United States said on Monday that it was concerned over reports of Russian military movements on Ukraine’s border and had asked Moscow to explain the “provocations”.

The US State Department said the reported Russian troop buildup and movements bordering eastern Ukraine had become the latest point of tension in icy US-Russian relations less than three months after President Joe Biden took office. State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news briefing that the United States would be concerned by any effort by Moscow to intimidate Ukraine whether it occurred on Russian territory or within Ukraine.

He declined to say whether the United States believed Russia was preparing to invade the neighbouring former Soviet republic. The spokesperson said Washington was “open to engagement with Moscow” on the situation, describing as “credible” reports of Russian troop movements on Ukraine’s border and Crimea, the peninsula seized by Russia in 2014.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2021