Austin: Moscow should explain its troop buildup near Ukraine

WASHINGTON – American officials are unsure wherefore Russian President Vladimir Putin is gathering up subject forces adjacent the borderline with eastbound Ukraine but presumption it arsenic different illustration of troubling subject moves that request Moscow's explanation, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday.

“We’ll proceed to telephone connected Russia to enactment responsibly and beryllium much transparent connected the buildup of the forces astir connected the borderline of Ukraine,” Austin told a Pentagon quality conference, adding, “We’re not definite precisely what Mr. Putin is up to.”

He said the unit buildup has the Pentagon's attraction and that the Russians should beryllium “more transparent astir what they're up to.”

Austin besides criticized Russia for utilizing a rocket to sprout down 1 of its aged satellites connected Monday, an enactment that created hundreds of pieces of abstraction debris that U.S. officials person said volition beryllium a semipermanent hazard to abstraction operations.

“What’s astir troubling astir that is the information that it creates for the planetary community,” Austin said. “It undermines strategical stability, and arsenic you know, there’s a debris tract determination present that’ll beryllium determination forever. And it’s a information concern. And truthful we would telephone upon Russia to enactment much responsibly going forward."

Ad

Austin's connection connected Russia's usage of an anti-satellite rocket was milder than that of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has called the determination “dangerous and irresponsible.” Blinken connected Monday said it showed Russia is consenting to “imperil the exploration and usage of outer abstraction by each nations.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry connected Tuesday confirmed destroying a defunct outer that has been successful orbit since 1982, but it insisted “the U.S. knows for definite that the resulting fragments, successful presumption of trial clip and orbital parameters, did not and volition not airs a menace to orbital stations, spacecraft and abstraction activities.” It called remarks by U.S. officials “hypocritical.”

The Russian subject buildup adjacent Ukraine is of perchance bigger concern. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said past week that astir 90,000 Russian troops are stationed not acold from the borderline and successful rebel-controlled areas successful Ukraine’s east.

Ad

Russia has supported a separatist insurgency successful Ukraine’s eastbound that erupted soon aft Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and has near much than 14,000 radical dead.

Earlier this year, a monolithic buildup of Russian troops successful the Russia’s westbound raised interest successful Ukraine and successful the West, fueling fears of an escalation of hostilities. Russian officials said the troops were deployed for training, casting them arsenic portion of measures to antagonistic information threats posed by the deployment of NATO forces adjacent Russian borders.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.