Loading ...US To Send Drones, Humvees To Ukraine, Boost Russia Sanctions As Moscow May “Deploy Nuclear Weapons In Crimea”
So much for the second Minsk ceasefire. A few hours ago, the US returned to its strategy of escalating Russian “costs” when it placed sanctions on eight Ukrainian separatists and a Russian bank, warning that recent attacks by rebels armed by Russia violated a European-brokered ceasefire in the war-torn country.
“If Russia continues to support destabilizing activity in Ukraine and violate the Minsk agreements and implementation plan, the already substantial costs it faces will continue to rise,” Adam Szubin, the Treasury Department’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
As Reuters adds, “the sanctions signal Washington is ratcheting up pressure on Moscow a day after accusing Russia of sending tanks and heavy military equipment into Ukraine, which a top U.S. official also said breached the Minsk accord agreed on Feb. 12.” What was not said is that this also comes a day after the US sent over 100 tanks and armors to Russia neighbor Latvia in a move that would, from the Kremlin’s perspective, signal further NATO arms build up on its borders.