At today’s (19 April) Foreign Affairs Council, European Union foreign ministers discussed Russia’s increased military activities in Eastern Ukraine and the illegally annexed Ukrainian region of Crimea with the Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba. The EU high representative. Josep Borrell urged Russia to de-escalate and commended the Ukrainian government for its restraint.

Borrell described the build-up of troops as: “the highest military deployment of the Russian army at the Ukrainian border ever,” saying that more than 150,000 Russian troops had been deployed, as well as all kinds of materials for warfare as well, including field hospitals. He said that the risk of further escalation was evident. Minister Kuleba briefed the ministers on the higher number of casualties compared to the same time last year and described the situation as, “very worrisome.”

The message from all EU ministers was clear, offering their strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Both Chancellor Merkel and President Biden have made direct requests to Putin to withdraw this deployment.

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