Washington - January 6 ANI Sputnik US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his UK counterpart Ben Wallace discussed so-called Russian military activity near Ukraine's border, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement.
Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III spoke to UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace about Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's borders, Kirby said on Wednesday.
The two defence chiefs promised to support Ukraine and agreed to continue to closely coordinate on the matter, Kirby said.
There have been tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the past several weeks due to an alleged Russian troop buildup at the Ukrainian border and claims of preparations for an invasion. Moscow has denied the accusations, saying that Russia has the right to relocate troops within its territory at its own discretion, while NATO's military activity near Russian borders poses a threat to its security.
On December 17, Russia released proposals on security guarantees to NATO and the United States that seek to prevent the alliance's expansion eastward and ban the deployment of US and Russian intermediate and short-range missiles within reach of each other's territory, among other things.