Russia-Ukraine Crisis : Putin’s rumblings raise new fears of Ukraine

Russia-Ukraine Crisis : Putin’s rumblings raise new fears of Ukraine

Rumblings from Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top Moscow officials during recent days have set off new fears that the frozen conflict in Ukraine could be on the verge of dramatically heating up again.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that Moscow still hopes to pursue a final peace deal with Kiev but warned that Russia intends to take “comprehensive measures” to prevent Ukraine’s military from attacking the Crimean Peninsula.

The comments marked the latest in a flurry of sharp posturing from Moscow. Last week, Mr. Putin made headlines by accusing Ukraine of trying to provoke a conflict over Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 after its forces invaded and occupied the peninsula.

Russia-Ukraine Crisis : Putin’s rumblings raise new fears of Ukraine

The U.S. and other Western nations have refused to recognize the seizure and imposed punishing economic sanctions on Russia.

But a string of Russian moves and statements has many in Ukraine worried that Mr. Putin is preparing the ground and seeking a pretext for another military action against the former Soviet republic.

After summoning his security council for a special meeting Wednesday, Mr. Putin offered some of his most aggressive rhetoric against Kiev since the height of the war between Moscow-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and 2015.

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