{"id":1015863,"date":"2021-11-15T16:28:53","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T21:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1015863"},"modified":"2021-11-15T16:28:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T21:28:55","slug":"nato-demands-russia-explain-large-and-unusual-concentration-of-forces-near-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nato-demands-russia-explain-large-and-unusual-concentration-of-forces-near-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO Demands Russia Explain &#039;Large and Unusual Concentration&#039; of Forces near Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnato-demands-russia-explain-large-and-unusual-concentration-of-forces-near-ukraine%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1015863&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-630455684.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\"><span>Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, on Monday demanded honest answers from Moscow about the \u201clarge and unusual concentration\u201d of Russian forces massing along the Ukrainian border.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAny further provocation or aggressive actions by Russia would be of serious concern. We call on Russia to be transparent about its military activities,\u201d Stoltenberg <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rferl.org\/a\/blinken-le-drian-ukraine-russia\/31561732.html\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> at a press conference in Brussels with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cWe have to be clear-eyed, we need to be realistic about the challenges we face. And what we see is a significant, large Russian military build-up,\u201d Stoltenberg said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe see an unusual concentration of troops, and we know that Russia has been willing to use these types of military capabilities before to conduct aggressive actions against Ukraine,\u201d he warned.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Stoltenberg elaborated that NATO believes the concentration of 100,000 or more Russian troops close to Ukraine, combined with separatist fighters allied with Moscow already operating in the Donbass region and Russian troops in the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula, means Russia could decide to \u201cconduct a military aggressive action against Ukraine\u201d with very little notice.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cWhat we see along our border is a sophisticated military infrastructure, rolled out during the spring escalation, that is ready to be used for offensive operations against Ukraine,\u201d Kuleba <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/ukraine-russian-border-kuleba\/\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> from Brussels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI cannot speculate on the exact scale of those operations, but back in 2014 it was unimaginable that Crimea would be seized by Russia. Therefore, I cannot exclude any scenario at this point,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A NATO source <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/nato-warns-russia-over-ukraine-military-build-up-2021-11-15\/\">told <\/a><\/span><span>Reuters<\/span><span> on Monday that Russia has been moving \u201clarge equipment such as tanks, self-propelled artillery and infantry fighting vehicles\u201d to the Ukrainian border at night, to avoid filling social media with photos and videos of the deployment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The NATO official said this was a troubling contrast with Russia\u2019s military buildup last year, which was conducted in broad daylight with copious social-media coverage and was therefore seen as more of a political ploy to increase pressure on the Ukrainian government. The implication was that moving heavy equipment by night means the Russians are more serious about actually <\/span><span>using<\/span><span> it this time around.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As to whether Russia might invade Ukraine while the European Union and NATO are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/middle-east\/2021\/11\/13\/iraq-says-e-u-border-with-belarus-is-so-dangerous-it-will-repatriate-its-refugees\/\">focused<\/a> on the <\/span><span>migrant crisis<\/span><span> in Poland created by Russia\u2019s ally Belarus, the NATO source said, \u201cI would not exclude that as a possibility.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Kuleba sounded a similar warning on Monday, arguing Russia\u2019s provocative actions on the Ukrainian and Belarusian borders were part of a \u201cbroad strategy to shatter Europe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhen we see migrants used as a weapon, when we see disinformation used as a weapon, when we see gas used as a weapon, and soldiers and their guns \u2026 these are not separate elements,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis <\/span><span>went even further<\/span><span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/nov\/15\/nato-chief-warns-russia-against-further-provocation-amid-ukraine-tensions\">noting<\/a> Ukraine and Belarus are roughly the same distance from where Russia is massing troops, so Russian President Vladimir Putin could be planning to use <\/span><span>either <\/span><span>crisis zone as cover for invading the other.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI think that what Putin might be playing is that we don\u2019t have an answer to who is under attack,\u201d Landsbergis said.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union also expressed concerns about Russia\u2019s military buildup over the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019re very concerned about some of the irregular movements of forces that we see on Ukraine\u2019s borders. I can\u2019t speak to Russia\u2019s intentions. We don\u2019t know what they are, but we do know that we\u2019ve seen in the past Russia mass forces on Ukraine\u2019s borders,\u201d U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/ukraine-russia-troops-border-blinken-concerns-invasion\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Blinken said Russia could be looking for \u201csome kind of provocation\u201d as the pretext for an invasion, similar to the strategy employed when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe are seeing a concerning situation at that border. We remain in unwavering support for Ukraine\u2019s territorial integrity and will continue to support them in the face of Russian hostility,\u201d said a spokesman for U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ukrainian officials <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukrinform.net\/rubric-defense\/3351184-denisova-seventy-ukrainians-taken-captive-during-ceasefire-in-eastern-areas.html\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> on Monday at least 301 of their citizens have been illegally \u201cconvicted\u201d of \u201cespionage\u201d by Russian-backed separatists in the turbulent Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and another 258 have disappeared without a trace.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Ukrainian government accused the separatists of violating ceasefire agreements thousands of times, creating a dangerous environment where searching for the missing Ukrainian citizens is impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cEvery day we see that something is happening. Someone is taken captive, then released, then is taken again,\u201d said Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Russian officials <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/11\/13\/france-warns-russia-over-ukraine-moscow-denies-weighing-attack.html\"><span>denied<\/span><\/a><span> holding any hostile intentions toward Ukraine, instead accusing the Ukrainians and NATO of provocative actions that forced Russia to mass its forces in a defensive response.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSuch headlines do nothing more than pointlessly and groundlessly fuel tensions. Russia does not pose a threat to anyone,\u201d insisted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In particular, the Russians complained about NATO\u2019s air, ground, and naval maneuvers in the Black Sea region, and about Ukraine using Turkish-made drones to attack targets in Donbass.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Putin <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/world-news\/russia-sees-us-nato-black-sea-drills-as-serious-challenge-vladimir-putin-2609451\"><span>claimed<\/span><\/a><span> on Saturday that U.S. and NATO naval exercises in the Black Sea were alarming to Russia, but said he would work on de-escalating tensions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe United States and its allies in NATO are carrying out unplanned exercises in the Black Sea. Not only is a rather powerful naval group involved in these exercises, but also aviation, including strategic aviation. This is a serious challenge for us,\u201d Putin said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Putin said Russia \u201chad a proposal to hold its own unplanned exercises in the same waters,\u201d but he decided those exercises would be \u201cinappropriate\u201d because \u201cthere is no need to further escalate the situation there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Putin accused Ukraine of violating the Minsk protocols for resolving the separatist crisis by using Turkish drones against the Donbass rebels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBut no one even reacts to this, and the U.S. practically supported it,\u201d he grumbled.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Turkish and Ukrainian officials <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukrinform.net\/rubric-defense\/3350922-ukraine-turkey-implementing-more-than-30-defense-contracts.html\"><span>defended<\/span><\/a><span> their strategic partnership and defense cooperation at a defense expo in Istanbul on Monday, touting over 30 joint projects launched within the past four years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cUkraine and Turkey are not just two countries that sell products to each other, but countries that do business together and work towards strengthening both countries in the defense sphere,\u201d said Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine\u2019s ambassador to Turkey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSome Turkish companies have already opened offices in Ukraine, including Aselsan, Bayraktar, and others. They can develop their cooperation in a wide range of proposals. We invite Turkish companies to open production facilities in Ukraine, as we are currently working on changes in the system of defense orders and reforming the structure of Ukroboronprom, which will allow for a more liberalized market,\u201d Bodnar said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Bayraktar is the Turkish company that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysabah.com\/business\/defense\/ukraine-to-buy-another-batch-of-turkish-drones-in-2022\"><span>produces<\/span><\/a><span> the popular line of unmanned aerial vehicles purchased by Ukraine, which announced on Friday it would buy another batch of Bayraktar drones to join the six it purchased in 2019. The Turkish drones became popular with Middle Eastern and Eastern European buyers after they performed well during Turkey\u2019s military incursions into Syria.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2020\/05\/20\/scandal-ridden-ukroboronprom-seeks-fresh-start-in-ties-with-western-arms-makers\/\">Ukroboronprom<\/a> is Ukraine\u2019s <\/span><span>scandal-plagued<\/span><span> state-owned defense contractor. Reforming the enterprise has been a major goal of President Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s administration.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, on Monday demanded honest answers from Moscow about the \u201clarge and unusual concentration\u201d of Russian forces massing along the Ukrainian border. \u201cAny further provocation &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1015863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1015863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1015863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1015863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1015863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1015863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1015863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}