The United States is sending another warship to the Black Sea to reassure its allies over Russia’s actions in Ukraine, where the country holds a crucial presidential election at the weekend, AFP reported on Wednesday, May 21st.
Washington also said Tuesday there was no sign of a Russian withdrawal of troops from the edge of Ukraine, despite Moscow’s announcement of a pullout and suggestions from Kiev that there was no longer any visible military activity in the border zone.
“They are still in the tens of thousands,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters, announcing the dispatch of a guided missile cruiser to the region. “We have not seen any withdrawal activity.”
The US and its allies have warned the Kremlin of further sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine, where a bloody pro-Moscow insurgency in the east is threatening to tear the ex-Soviet nation apart.
US Vice President Joe Biden, on a visit to Romania, said Wednesday the West “must remain resolute in imposing greater costs to Russia” if it undermines Ukraine’s elections.
Ahead of Sunday’s vote, Kiev’s Western-backed leaders are hosting a new round of national unity talks under a peace plan sponsored by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
But an earlier two rounds failed to make any progress, with the government pointedly refusing to invite the separatists who have seized over a dozen towns in the industrial eastern belt.
Tensions between Moscow and the West have spiralled to Cold-War highs over the crisis in Ukraine, particularly Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March and allegations it is driving the insurgency.