ARLINGTON, Virginia, United States (Reuters) — Russia’s military activity in eastern Ukraine has increased and broaden recently, NATO’s top commander said on Tuesday (March 1), warning that the risk of confrontation between Turkey and Russia over Syria remained high.
U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, the NATO supreme allied commander, said that Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Syria has “complicated the problem”.
“Despite public pronouncements to the contrary, today Russia has done little to counter Daesh (Islamic State) but a great deal to bolster the Assad regime and its allies. To be clear, all genuinely constructive efforts to end the war are welcome. But in the end actions will speak louder than words,” he told reporters at a Pentagon briefing, hours after giving similar testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Replying to a reporter’s question, Breedlove denied that he was raising the rhetoric, but reiterated that he considered Russia’s talk about “using…nuclear weapons” as “irresponsible”
He said Russia’s activity in Eastern Ukraine has increased from a relatively calm period several weeks ago.
“What you saw for some time was a period of relatively calmer, we should never use the word calm, but more calm activity along the line of contact. Now, what I would tell you is in the last couple of weeks, this has changed in the activity — along the line of — contact is very much increased,” Breedlove said.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which is monitoring the ceasefire, said in February that the situation had “become difficult again.”
Breedlove said there are concerns that the military activity in Donbass is “becoming more broad” and “now involving heavier weapons”.
