50% of Russian Forces Along Ukraine Border in 'Attack' Position, Says US

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Russian Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during their meeting in Moscow.

(Photo: PTI/Alexei Nikolsky)

A defence official of the United States on Friday, 18 February, said that over 50 percent of the Russian forces along the Ukraine border were now in tactical positions to attack, claiming that Moscow had started the destabilisation campaign.

The US estimated around 150,000 Russian troops near Ukraine's borders and observed significant movement on the ground, news agency AFP reported.

"Forty to fifty percent are in an attack position. They have uncoiled in a tactical assembly in the last 48 hours."

US official to AFP

The official also said that Russia had amassed 125 battalions of tactical groups close to the Ukraine border, which was significantly higher than the 60 in normal conditions.

Commenting on the increased tussle between pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine government forces in the southeastern Donbas region of Ukraine, the official said that it was a sign that Russia had begun its destabilisation campaign.

Russia Welcomes India's Approach on Ukraine Issue

Amidst the ongoing Ukraine-Russia debacle, the Russian embassy in India welcomed India's "balanced, principled and independent approach" to the issue in the United Nations Security Council briefing on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements on Ukraine.

India said that a "quiet and constructive" diplomatic approach was needed at this point and that any steps that endanger the stability and international peace "may best be avoided by all sides."

The issue can only be resolved through diplomatic dialogue, India said at the UN.

"We welcome #India's balanced, principled and independent approach," tweeted the Russian embassy on Friday.

Ambassador TS Tirumurti, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, said that India welcomed the efforts to implement the Minsk Agreements.

He further said that the agreements provided "negotiated and peaceful settlement" in eastern Ukraine.

The Minsk Agreements struck in 2014 and 2015 were named after the Belarus capital. Their aim was to end the war between the government of Ukraine and the Russian-speaking secessionists in eastern Ukraine.

The agreements remain unimplemented mostly because Russia denies any armed formations and military equipment in the disputed regions.