Kremlin Says US 'Shouldn't Worry' About Buildup On Ukraine Border

Yesterday high-ranking US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley called his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts to express his concern at an apparent military buildup on Russia's border with Ukraine and in the Crimea.

• US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also spoke with the Ukrainian president's office, expressing Washington, D.C.'s support for Kyiv.
• US European Command (EUCOM) raised its threat level in Ukraine from possible crisis to potential imminent crisis, the highest level short of outright conflict.
• For its part, the Kremlin has stated that the US 'should not worry' and that Russia has the right to move troops within its territory at its discretion. The Kremlin also stated that it is Ukrainian military movements (inside Ukraine) that are a clear provocation, threatening everyone.
• The buildup comes as the Ukrainian gov't has sought to clamp down on public figures that it deems to be Moscow's 'agents of influence', with the Russian gov't seeking a display of strength on the border of the increasingly unstable breakaway Ukrainian provinces in the Donbass.