(Odessa) Two patrol vessels delivered by the United States to the Ukrainian naval forces arrived at the port of Odessa in southern Ukraine on Tuesday, amid renewed tensions with Russia.
The two Island-class patrol boats, the price of which was not communicated by the Ukrainian authorities, arrived in Odessa aboard a cargo ship, an AFP photographer noted.
Along with two other ships of the same type received by Kiev in 2019, these vessels will have the task of “ensuring the naval security” of Ukraine in the Black and Azov Seas, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement. .
In recent days, the United States, NATO and the European Union have continued to express their concern about Russian troop movements around Ukraine, the scene since 2014 of a conflict between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists in ballast.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed on Saturday that Washington had “serious concerns about Russia’s unusual military activities” in the area.
Moscow has denied any belligerent will, throwing all responsibility on the West.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that “military and armaments advisers” were arriving in Ukraine “not only from the United States but also from other NATO members”.
“All this leads to a worsening of tensions,” he continued, saying he fears “the preparation” by Kiev of a possible military attack to retake the regions controlled by the separatists, accusations regularly denied by Kiev.
Last week, Vladimir Putin had also accused the West of aggravating the situation “by delivering modern weapons to Kiev and by carrying out provocative military exercises in the Black Sea and in other regions” near the Russian border.
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba told him on November 18 that Kiev wants more Western “defensive” weapons in the face of “aggressiveness” from Moscow.
In early September, the White House said it had provided $ 2.5 billion in “security assistance” to Kiev since 2014, without giving further details.
The 2014 war in Ukraine, which erupted shortly after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, has claimed more than 13,000 lives to date. Despite its denials, Russia is widely seen as the godfather of pro-Russian separatists.
photo-ant-as / rco / lep / sg