Russian Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov stated on Tuesday that Russia won’t be taking any action against Ukraine unless Kiev provokes a response.

“If Ukraine carries out an attack against Russia – don’t be surprised that we respond”, he told The Guardian.

He also stressed that Moscow won’t allow the “blatant killing of Russian citizens anywhere – including in Donbass”.

According to the diplomat, the number of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border (which is often cited as a sign of Russia’s “military buildup”) equals the number of servicemen engaged in the recent West-2021 drills, which caused no major concerns.

The situation around Ukraine has worsened in recent weeks, with NATO raising concerns and some countries claiming that Russia is planning an “invasion” of Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly blasted those allegations as fake, saying such claims are just a pretext to deploy more NATO military equipment near the Russian border, as well as to cover Kiev’s aggressive actions in Donbass, which violate the Minsk agreements.

Source: Agencies (editted by Al-Manar English Website)