EU: Russia Deploys 150,000 Troops To Ukraine's Border, Greater Than In 2014

Russian soldiers on the border with Ukraine. (Source: Wikimedia Commons/Ilya Varlamov)

JAKARTA - Head of European Union Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell said Russia has deployed more than 150 thousand troops to the border between Ukraine and Crimea.

This was disclosed after the EU foreign ministers held talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Monday, April 19.

"More than 150,000 Russian troops are gathering on the border of Ukraine and in Crimea. The risk of further escalation is evident," said Borrell, refusing to provide a source for the figure.

Borrell acknowledged Russia's build-up of military force on the Ukrainian border was the largest it has ever seen. However, no new economic sanctions or expulsion of Russian diplomats are planned in the near future.

Meanwhile, Ukraine expects Western countries to provide practical support, to prevent further aggression by Russia. In talks with the European Union, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked the European Union to prepare new sanctions against Russia.

Separately, the United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) said Russia's current military development was greater than in 2014. It was unclear whether it was for training purposes.

2014 refers to the clashes that took place between the Russian military and the Ukrainian military. At that time, Russia succeeded in annexing the Crimea region

"It is definitely bigger than it was in 2014. It is not clear the movement of the troops is for training purposes," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, but declined to give a specific number.

Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow's military build-up near Ukraine was part of a massive exercise, which was meant to test combat readiness and respond to what he called threatening military action by NATO.

Shoigu said the training, which was planned to be held for three weeks, would be completed in the next two weeks. Shoigu said NATO has deployed 40,000 troops and 15,000 military equipment near the Russian border, mainly in the Black Sea and the Baltic region. This is denied by NATO.

To note, tensions between Moscow and Kyiv have been rising amid a military build-up, as well as clashes in eastern Ukraine between the army and pro-Russian separatists.