US, UK Condemn Russia for Arming Rebels in Ukraine
The U.S. and U.K. condemned Russia
for what they said was the arming of separatists in eastern
Ukraine and the European Union warned it could increase
sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s government.
Russia must stop militarizing eastern Ukraine, U.S. State
Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said today in Washington D.C.
U.K. Premier David Cameron said the country’s actions posed “a
grave danger to the rest of Europe” and he’d tell Putin later
this week at a G20 meeting in Australia that Russia will have
“radically” different ties with the rest of the world if it
continues on its path. Russia denies military involvement.
“Russia’s illegal actions are destabilizing a sovereign
state and violating its territorial integrity,” Cameron said in
a speech in London’s financial district today. “We shouldn’t
need to be reminded of the consequences of turning a blind eye
when big countries in Europe bully smaller countries.”
Tensions are mounting in Ukraine after separatists held
Nov. 2 elections that the government in Kyiv and its U.S. and
European allies said threatened a Sept. 5 truce. Ukraine has
accused Russia of moving troops, tanks and military vehicles
into rebel-held areas in its eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions
last week to continue destabilizing the country and to thwart
its ambition of deepening ties with the EU.
Psaki said “costs to Russia will rise” if Putin ignores
commitments signed under the cease-fire agreement in Minsk,
Belarus. She echoed comments from EU foreign policy chief
Federica Mogherini, who said earlier in the day that sanctions
against the government could increase if the situation escalated
militarily.
“If Russia is truly committed to Minsk and peace in
Ukraine, it will stop fueling the fire with new weapons and
support for separatists, and withdraw all Russian military
personnel and equipment from Ukraine,” Psaki said.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Holly Rosenkrantz in Washington at
hrosenkrantz@bloomberg.net;
Daryna Krasnolutska in Kyiv at
dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Balazs Penz at
bpenz@bloomberg.net
Michael Winfrey