Ukraine counts on foreign military supplies Combines multiple Russia-Ukraine strands MOSCOW, December 9, Reuters -- Russia kept up a barrage of hostile rhetoric towards Ukraine on Thursday and compared the crisis there to the most dangerous moment of the Cold War, as it waited for U.S. President Joe Biden to invite it to possible talks with NATO countries.
The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of moving heavy artillery towards the front line of fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the former Soviet republic and failing to engage in a peace process.
Ministerial spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters that negotiations on a peaceful settlement have practically hit a dead end, referring to the seven-year conflict between Ukrainian and separatist forces in the eastern Donbass region.
With the support of NATO countries pumping the country with weapons, Kyiv is boosting its contingent on the line of contact in Donbass, according to the ministry's Twitter feed. When the United States and the Soviet Union were on the brink of nuclear war, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov agreed with a reporter who suggested East-West tensions over Ukraine could escalate into a re-run of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
It really could come to that, the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. If things continue as they are, it is entirely possible by the logic of events to wake up and see yourself in something similar. Two days after a video call between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the video was intended to help defuse the crisis over Ukraine.
They said Moscow has an interest in keeping tensions high while waiting for the next move from Biden, who has said he plans to hold follow-up talks between Russia and NATO countries.
Ukraine, seeking to join NATO, fears an invasion by tens of thousands of Russian troops gathered near its border. Moscow says its posture is purely defensive.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv expects to be supported by Western military allies even if the United States does not send troops there, an action that Biden has ruled out: https: www.reuters. com world europe kremlin-says follow-up quickly-putin biden-talks - 2021 -- 12 -- 08.
Kuleba told investors in London that we will be fighting this war by ourselves. We do not need foreign troops fighting for us. We will appreciate anything that can strengthen our army in terms of military supplies. Ukraine's military accused Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country of six new violations of a broken-down 2020 ceasefire on Thursday, three of which were weapons banned under earlier peace deals that Moscow and Kyiv say they are trying to revive.
A Ukrainian official said that Kyiv was proposing a humanitarian exchange of up to 60 prisoners by the New Year.
In Tuesday's video call, Biden expressed concern about Russia's military build-up and told Putin that Moscow would face serious economic consequences if it invaded.
Putin has accused NATO and Ukraine of smuggled tensions because they said talk of an invasion was provocative.
Biden hopes for an announcement by Friday of high-level meetings with Russia and major NATO allies to discuss Moscow's concerns and the possibility of bringing down the temperature along the eastern front. Ryabkov described this as a unilateral statement, implying that the U.S. side had not discussed it with Moscow.
Asked if Russia would object to the participation of other NATO members, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: We cannot say because there is no understanding of how all this will be arranged.