Ukraine: Russia on collision course

Putin sends additional tanks and snipers to Ukraine border, hours before video call with the US President

Kyiv: Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday charged that Russia is sending tanks and snipers to the line of contact in war-torn eastern Ukraine to “provoke return fire,” an accusation that comes amid fears that a Russian troop buildup near the Ukrainian border might indicate plans for an invasion.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry released the statement just hours before a long-anticipated video call between the U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the two leaders are expected to discuss tensions over Ukraine. The ministry alleged in the statement that Russia is holding “training camps under the leadership of regular servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces” and “reinforcing units near the contact line ... with additional 122-millimeter selfpropelled artillery vehicles, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles,” as well as increasing the number of sniper teams in the area. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the allegations on Tuesday, redirecting questions to Russia’s Defense Ministry, which has not yet commented on the statement.

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter tug-ofwar since 2014, when Moscow annexed the peninsula of Crimea and threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. The fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels has since killed more than 14,000 people.

Ukraine and the West accused Russia of sending its troops and weapons to back the separatists, which Moscow has repeatedly denied, with the Kremlin insisting that Russia is not a party to the conflict. -(AP)