Russia masses more forces near Ukraine border

More units are being deployed near Ukraine’s eastern frontier, giving Russia a stronger military presence than at any time since October.

Marie Harf, a State Department spokesman, accused Russia and its rebel allies in Ukraine of breaking the second Minsk ceasefire agreement signed in February.

More than 6,100 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine since the onset of the war in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk last year.

The fighting has diminished since the last Minsk accord, but the situation appears to be escalating once again after a two-month lull.

"Combined Russian-separatist forces maintain a sizeable number of artillery pieces and multiple rocket launchers within areas prohibited under the Minsk accords,” said Ms Harf. "The Russian military has deployed additional air defence systems into eastern Ukraine and moved several of these nearer the front lines.”

This is Russia’s strongest deployment of air defence missiles in Ukraine for eight months. The main purpose of these units is to protect troops and tanks, suggesting that Russia is preparing for a renewed incursion into its neighbour.

Russian forces have also been training alongside their rebel allies inside Ukraine. These "complex” exercises have included the use of drones, amounting to an "unmistakable sign of Russia’s presence,” added the State Department.

One focus of the build-up appears to be the port of Mariupol, the second biggest city in Donetsk region with a population of 500,000. Mariupol was under separatist control until last August when it was retaken by Ukrainian forces.

The city lies on the E58 highway running between the Russian border and Crimea, the region which the Kremlin annexed last year. Capturing Mariupol would provide a platform for Russia to seize an overland link to Crimea.

Ukrainian sources claimed that rebel artillery and tanks fired at government forces in Shyrokyne, a village on the frontline near Mariupol, on Wednesday evening.

The US said Russian troops are also massing 300 miles further north in the border area opposite Kharkiv, a Ukrainian city which has remained under Kiev’s control throughout the crisis. The latest military movements suggest that Russia’s aim would be to threaten both Kharkiv and Mariupol simultaneously.

The Kremlin accuses America of breaking the Minsk agreement by sending hundreds of troops to western Ukraine to train the national army. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, has denied that any of his forces are inside Ukraine.

The pro-Russian separatists said on Thursday that four of their men had been wounded by Ukrainian shelling since Wednesday.

Alexander Zakharchenko, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, told journalists: "Ukraine is ready to attack - our intelligence shows this.”

Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s pro-Western president, wants European leaders to deploy peacekeeping troops to monitor the ceasefire. The EU, which signed an association agreement with Ukraine last June, will hold a summit with Mr Poroshenko in Kiev on Monday. This week, the EU announced a further loan of £180 million to Ukraine, bringing the total granted to £1.1 billion.

(The Telegraph)