Washington
(AFP) - Nearly 100,000 Russian forces have massed on Ukraine's
border, a top Ukrainian defense official told an American audience
Thursday, giving a number far higher than US military estimates.
"Almost
100,000 soldiers are stationed on the borders of Ukraine and in the
direction ... of Kharkiv, Donetsk, " Andriy Parubiy, chairman of
Ukraine's national security council, said via a webcast from Kiev.
"Russian
troops are not in Crimea only, they are along all Ukrainian borders.
They're in the south, they're in the east and in the north,"
Parubiy said.
After
its intervention in the Crimean peninsula, Russia is plotting to
foment separatist sentiment elsewhere and Kiev fears a possible
incursion in the country's east, he told the Atlantic Council, a
Washington think tank.
Parubiy
said any day "we might see a huge attack on the territory of
continental Ukraine and we are getting ready for it."
Although
US defense officials have put the number of Russian troops closer to
20,000, a US lawmaker said Thursday that much stronger Russian forces
had deployed towards Ukraine's border.
"Over
the past week we've seen the buildup of up to 80,000 additional
Russian troops," Representative Mike Turner said in a statement.
Turner
said the force included large numbers of armored vehicles, battle
tanks, artillery, helicopters and planes.
The
Republican lawmaker accused the White House of witholding "critical"
information about the full scope of Russian troop movements and
demanded the adminstration reveal what it knows to help "vulnerable
allies."
Pentagon
officials previously have said more than 20,000 Russian troops --
including airborne units and armored vehicles -- have deployed along
Ukraine's border, a force big enough to seize control of the eastern
region.
"That
sounds too high," the official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, told AFP.
Russia
has assured Washington that the Russian forces were there to carry
out a "spring" exercise but the Pentagon on Thursday
acknowledged there was no indication of any drill underway.
"We've
seen no specific indications that exercises are taking place,"
spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.
He
declined to discuss US intelligence assessments on the possibility of
a Russian attack into eastern Ukraine but said the military presence
only served to aggravate tensions.
Kirby
said that "regardless of the intent it does nothing to
de-escalate the tension in Ukraine.
"It
does nothing to improve the stability in that part of the world."
Parubiy
said the Ukrainian government supported moves by Western countries to
impose punitive sanctions on Russia and appealed for a public display
of military partnership to send a signal to Moscow over its actions.
"We
are calling on our partners to hold a common military exercise"
that would "show that the cooperation and partnership is still
there," he said through an interpreter.
He
urged "visible support, visible presence of our partners"
at this moment of crisis.
The
Russian troops that have deployed in Crimea were well-trained special
forces, he said.
After
Russia's takeover of Crimea, Moscow had launched a new strategy aimed
at disrupting Ukraine's upcoming presidential elections in May,
according to Parubiy.
Kiev
authorities had "arrested" separatist leaders in the east
and Moscow's attempts to provoke street demonstrations were faltering
with fewer people turning out for the protests, he said.
US
President Barack Obama and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen have both
denounced Moscow's incursion into Crimea but have called for a
diplomatic solution to the crisis.
NATO
has bolstered its presence in Eastern Europe since Russia's
intervention, deploying radar surveillance aircraft to the area while
Washington has sent F-16 fighter jets to Poland.
My comments: A Financially, and Morally Bankrupt USA and Europe stands by as Russia does as it pleases. How far will Russian go? Only God knows.
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