France and Germany are concerned by the growing number of ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine, which come after the situation had stabilised since July 2020. We are closely monitoring the situation and in particular Russian troop movements, and call on all sides to show restraint and to work towards the immediate de-escalation of tensions.
We reaffirm our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. As mediators in the Normandy format, France and Germany are continuing their efforts to see the Minsk agreements implemented in full, and regular negotiations are being held to that end.
NATO fighter jets scrambled 10 times on Monday, March 29, 2021, to shadow Russian bombers and fighters during an unusual peak of flights over the North Atlantic, North Sea, Black Sea and Baltic Sea. In all, NATO aircraft intercepted six different groups of Russian military aircraft near Alliance airspace in less than six hours.
In the High North, Norwegian F-16s scrambled after radars spotted two groups of Russian military aircraft flying near Norway’s coast. The Norwegian jets intercepted two Tu-95 Bear bombers, which continued to fly south over the North Sea prompting the United Kingdom and Belgium to scramble Typhoon and F-16 fighters, respectively. Later in the day, the Norwegian F-16s intercepted two Tu-160 Blackjack bombers over international waters.
Wow. Military build up ongoing in full force on #Russia - #Ukraine border.
Video of Ukrainian tanks reportedly rolling today into the Luhansk & Donetsk region: pic.twitter.com/Nkh4yZMb3M Joyce Karam (@Joyce Karam) April 1, 2021
Western military leaders say that they are concerned that the troop movements that we have witnessed in recent days may be leading up to an invasion, and if an invasion does happen it will greatly test the resolve of the Biden administration, EU leaders and NATO brass. In particular, the hawks in the Biden administration would almost certainly not be willing to just sit back and let the Russians conquer all of Ukraine.
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