BLOODY THREAT
Russian ambassador warns of ‘bloodbath’ in Ukraine and vows to respond if troops moved to area
THE Russian ambassador to the UK has warned of a “bloodbath” in Ukraine - and vowed to respond if Kiev moves troops to the Donbass region.
Andrey Kelin said Moscow had “no intention” of a large-scale military conflict despite tensions soaring between the two countries.
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Kiev and Moscow have blame each other for rising clashes in the eastern Donbass region, where Ukrainian troops have battled Russian-backed forces in a war that Kyiv claims has killed 14,000 people since 2014.
In the past month, Vladimir Putin has amassed tens of thousands of troops and weaponry on the Ukrainian border - prompting fears of a military escalation.
It comes seven years after Russia annexed Crimea in the east of the country using separatist militia groups.
Mr Kelin denied that Moscow wanted a military confrontation with Kiev - but stressed that a response was inevitable if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sent troops to the Donbass region.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “If the Ukrainian government decide to move troops into the Donbass - to make a bloodbath there and to kill Russians - then of course we are going to respond.”
But asked if he believed Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of war, he added: “I don’t think so.”
Mr Kelin also stressed that Moscow had “no intention at all” of being “aggressive” towards Ukraine - and that the Kremlin was “fully committed” to the Minsk agreements.
The standoff has fuelled tensions between Moscow and President Joe Biden, whose administration imposed a new round of sanctions on Russia this week.
Speaking on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were not yet grounds to fully relax and signalled Russia would continue to watch the situation closely.
Last week, Putin blocked all foreign warships from reaching Ukraine and closed part of the Kerch Strait - which separates Crimea in the west from Russia in the east.
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