Russia has signaled that it will further militarize its borders with Europe as relations continue to deteriorate. It raises the prospect of further tensions along the continent’s eastern borders far beyond the conflict in Ukraine. Russia shares western borders with Finland, Estonia and Latvia, as well as Ukraine and the Belarusian puppet. Both Estonia and Latvia are in NATO’s military alliance, while Finland has a defense partnership with the United Kingdom and other European countries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said on Friday that Russia would strengthen its western border so that “no one would think of attacking,” a state-run news agency reported. He also said that Peshkov said that the aid exercise would ensure that the “necessary parity” was maintained, but gave no details. Belarus – which borders Poland, Lithuania and Latvia – is home to Russian troops and has been used as a base for attacks in Ukraine. Its borders have been the scene of tensions in recent months after migrants were encouraged to travel to Minsk to cross into Europe on foot, a ploy seen by Western leaders as an attempt to destabilize the European Union. Pro-Russian troops carry anti-tank grenade launcher during fighting in Mariupol (Image: Reuters) The announcement comes a day after Vladimir Putin threatened to cut off gas exports to Europe if he did not succumb to the Russian state buying rubles, a move described as “blackmail” by Western leaders. Moves to increase border security following a blast that destroyed a fuel depot right inside Russia. Moscow has accused Kyiv of sending attack helicopters over the border to attack facilities in the city of Belogorod. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine, denied that Ukraine was responsible. More than 300 firefighters battled the blaze, using a helicopter and a special firefighting train, the Belgorod mayor’s office said. Ukraine has continued to repel Russian troops from Kyiv after a day of heavy fighting. Ukraine denies Russia claims it attacked a large fuel depot above the border (Image: Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations) The video released by the Ukrainian military shows soldiers returning to Bucha, a suburb held by Kremlin forces in recent weeks. Russia is in a partial retreat and has shifted its message, saying it is focusing on the “liberation of Donbass”, a move widely seen as trying to shift the narrative around the deadlock in the capital. Kremlin negotiators who took part in peace talks in Turkey this week said they would reduce some military operations, but the West called for caution. Fighting continued to rage near Kyiv and there were fears that Russia was trying to reorganize and replenish troubled units before further attacks. The Institute for the Study of War wrote in its daily assessment: “Russia is withdrawing elements of its destroyed forces around Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy for rearrangement in eastern Ukraine, but these units are unlikely to offer a decisive change in Russian combat power. ‘ Ukrainian soldiers carry a body bag over a bridge near Kyiv as efforts to repel Russian troops continue rapidly (Image: AP) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Russian forces are not withdrawing but are being rebuilt, while Ukrainian officials say Russian troops are losing ground instead of retreating on their own accord. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko urged residents not to return to Kyiv yet because of “huge” fighting in the north and east of the capital. He said: “The risk of dying is quite high, so my advice to anyone who wants to come back is: Please, take a little more time.” The governor of the Chernihiv region, where the Russians have also pledged to withdraw, said some Russian troops had withdrawn but some remained in his area. Contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected] For more stories like this, check out our news page.
