Germany Called on the Kremlin to Clarify Maneuvers Near Ukrainian Borders

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The German government's plenipotentiary for Russia called the current maneuvers of the Russian Armed Forces on the border with Ukraine the largest movement of Russian troops since the annexation of Crimea. Amid rising tensions caused by Moscow’s military buildup near Ukraine’s borders, the German government’s envoy for Russia, Johann Saathoff, called on the Kremlin on Sunday, April 18, to clarify the purpose of the maneuvers. At the same time, he advised the international community to remain vigilant and closely monitor the development of the situation. "What is happening now on the border with Ukraine is obviously the largest movement of Russian armed forces since the annexation of Crimea. We need to remain vigilant," the expert said in an interview with the Ostfriesen-Zeitung newspaper. “Our main goal is to end shooting and killings,” added Zaathoff. Commenting on the relations between Berlin and Moscow, the politician noted that communication should play an important role in this area. This concerns, for example, the situation with the imprisoned opposition politician Alexei Navalny, the murder of the former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in the Berlin Tiergarten park and hacker attacks on the computers of the Bundestag, the German government official for Russia emphasized. Zathoff added that he is engaged in an active dialogue with the French side in search of a solution that will preserve a civil, democratic society in Russia. Building up Russia's military presence on the border with Ukraine At the beginning of April 2021, reports began to appear in the international media about the concentration of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. Later, Kiev accused Moscow of deploying more than 80 thousand troops on the Ukrainian borders and in the annexed Crimea. According to the US Charge d'Affaires to the OSCE Courtney Ostrien, Russia has deployed between 15,000 and 25,000 soldiers in the region. A number of high-ranking officials of the United States and the European Union have expressed concern about this situation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the United States to help repel Russia's aggression. For its part, Moscow explains the transfer of troops to the border with Ukraine by conducting military exercises.