Ukraine wants to speed up joining NATO to send 'real signal to
Russia'
By Euronews with AFP • Updated: 06/04/2021
- 13:54
Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy - Copyright AP
Ukraine's
president wants to speed up the country's path to NATO membership to send a
"real signal to Russia".
Volodymyr
Zelenskyy made the call after discussing rising tensions in eastern Ukraine
with the military alliance's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg.
More than
13,000 people have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which began
in 2014 after a pro-Western revolution in Kyiv and Moscow's annexation of
Crimea.
"In
recent weeks, we have seen a very dangerous tendency to increase the number of
ceasefire violations by the Russian occupation forces and the number of
Ukrainian defenders killed," Zelenskyy said in a statement.
On Tuesday,
two more military soldiers were shot dead in fighting with pro-Russian
separatists in eastern Ukraine, the country's army said.
Ukraine's
army has accused the separatists of firing on Ukrainian positions with machine
guns and grenade launchers.
The first
incident took place near the town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, the second
near the town of Zolote-4 in the Lugansk region, the press service of the
Ukrainian military operation told AFP. Both soldiers died from their wounds on
Monday, the authorities said.
The deaths
come amid rising tensions and clashes along the frontline, raising fears of an
escalation of the conflict.
Zelenskyy
also called on NATO member countries to strengthen their military presence in
the Black Sea region.
"Such a
permanent presence should be a powerful deterrent to Russia, which continues
the large-scale militarisation of the region and hinders trade shipping,"
said Zelenskyy.
"We are
committed to reforming our army and defence sector, but reforms alone cannot
stop Russia," Zelenskyy said.
"NATO
is the only way to end the war in Donbas. The MAP (membership action plan for
joining NATO) will be a real signal for Russia."
Responding
to Zelenskyy's NATO comments, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian
presidency, told reporters: "We strongly doubt that this can help Ukraine
to solve its internal problem. From our point of view, it will make the
situation even worse."
Ukraine has
accused Russia of building up its forces near Ukraine’s eastern borders in
recent weeks, as well as in the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Russia
claims that its troop movements on their own are not threatening and says Kyiv
is responsible for the clashes on the front line.
However, the
United States, the United Kingdom, and NATO countries have all expressed their
support for Ukraine.
- Could Ukraine-Russia
border tension escalate into a fresh conflict?
- EU very worried over
Russian military activity near Ukraine's border
On Monday,
the European Union's chief diplomat Josep Borell said he was following the
Russian military activity near Ukraine with "severe concern".
"Unwavering
EU support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he added
on Twitter.
Ukrainian
forces also said they have launched ten days of exercises in the south of the
country to protect "the administrative border with Crimea" and
"parts of the coastline accessible by landing".
Ukraine's
President has also stressed that the conflict is the country's most urgent
issue in their hope of joining NATO.
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