In the midst of a spiral of tension, Ukraine accused Russia of blocking its access to the sea.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Thursday that the two seas to the south of the country are isolateds by the Russian forces.
Russia has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine despite massing numerous tanks, artillery and more than 10,10 soldiers on its border with Ukraine.
But Moscow has just started massive military exercises with its ally Belarus, which shares a long border with Ukraine, and will hold naval exercises next week.
France called the drills a “violent gesture ” while Ukraine assures that they are a form of “psychological pressure”.
The United States, for its part, urged its nationals in Ukraine on Thursday to leave immediately due to “increased threats of Russian military action”. .
Russian naval exercises
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that “the unprecedented vast area where maneuvers will be carried out makes navigation in both seas practically impossible”.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov tweeted that the international waters of the two seas south of his country have been blocked by Russia.
He was referring to the naval exercises that Russia will carry out next week in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
Russia has issued coastal warnings citing missile and artillery firing exercises, in addition to 10 days of Russian military exercises with good lorussia, north of Ukraine.
Tensions have been high between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov regions since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. In 2018, Russia seized three Ukrainian warships.
‘Psychological pressure’
Military exercises in Belarus, known as Allied Resolve 2022, are held near the border of Belarus with Ukraine, which has a little over 1,000 km (620 miles) of long. It is believed that some 30,000 Russian soldiers have been deployed.
It is feared that if Russia tries to invade Ukraine, the exercises will bring the Russian army closer to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, making it easier to attack the city.
The leader of Belarus , Alexander Lukashenko, is a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the two countries have created the so-called “State of the Union”, which includes economic and military integration.
Russia says its troops will return to their permanent bases after the exercises end, but Ukraine and its Western allies have expressed concern.
“The build-up of forces on the border is a psychological pressure from our neighbors,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.
“Dangerous moment”
Military exercises occur when leaders mu ndials continue their frantic diplomacy in an attempt to defuse the ongoing crisis over Ukraine.
The UK Foreign Secretary Kingdom, Liz Truss, met on Thursday in Moscow with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. He said Russia should move its troops away from the Ukrainian border if it is serious about using diplomacy to defuse the crisis.
Lavrov said he was disappointed with the talks and accused Truss of not listen to Russia’s concerns.
Moscow says it cannot accept that Ukraine, a former Soviet republic with deep social and cultural ties to Russia , may one day join the Western defense alliance, NATO, and has demanded that it be scrapped.
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