European High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell speaks during a video conference meeting with EU foreign ministers to discuss the situation in Ukraine, at the European Council in Brussels, Belgium, April 19, 2021. Francois Walschaerts / Pool via REUTERS
Russia has concentrated more than 150,000 troops on the Ukrainian border and in annexed Crimea, EU top diplomat Josep Borrell said Monday after EU foreign ministers were informed by Ukraine’s foreign minister.
“More than 150,000 Russian troops are gathering on the Ukrainian borders and in Crimea. The risk of further escalation is clear,” said Borrell, declining to provide a source for the figure.
He said no new economic sanctions or expulsion of Russian diplomats had been planned for the time being, despite the fact that the military build-up on Ukraine’s borders was the largest ever.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, after a speech to EU foreign ministers, called on the EU to impose new sanctions on Russia.
Tensions between Moscow and Kiev have risen amid military build-up and clashes in Eastern Ukraine between the military and pro-Russian separatists.
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