[RusOnline] The Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov harshly warned Ukraine about the consequences of the aggression in Donbass.
At the same time, during a briefing before the military attachés of foreign states on the afternoon of December 9, Gerasimov stated that the situation in Donbass was escalating, and warned the Ukrainian authorities that any provocation with an attempt to resolve the ongoing conflict by force would be suppressed.
"The supply of helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft to Ukraine is pushing the Ukrainian authorities to take drastic and dangerous steps. Kiev does not comply with the Minsk agreements. The Ukrainian armed forces announce the beginning of the use in the Donbas of the Javelin anti-tank missile systems, which were supplied by the United States, and also use Turkish-made reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicles.
As a result, the already tense situation in the east of this country is aggravated. However, any provocations of the Ukrainian authorities to resolve the problems of Donbass by force will be suppressed," said the head of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces.
Kiev is transferring heavy artillery to the east of Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said
[RIA Novosti] Kiev is pulling heavy artillery to the line of contact with Donbass, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
"The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission records the transfer of heavy weapons by Kiev to the east of the country, including large-caliber artillery and armored vehicles, the use of drones continues," she said at a briefing.
Earlier, the diplomat already spoke about the transfer of 125 thousand soldiers and officers to the east of the country by Ukraine - half of the personnel of the Armed Forces. NATO, which, according to the Russian authorities, is amassing its forces near the Russian borders, could provoke the Ukrainian authorities into "military adventures", which poses a direct threat to Russia's security , said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
According to him, Kiev does not want to adhere to the Minsk agreements on Donbass on its own and is trying to incite its Western curators. Although a peaceful settlement of the conflict in the region is possible "solely on the basis of direct and unambiguous implementation of the Minsk agreements," the head of Russian diplomacy stressed.
In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics . They declared independence after the coup d'etat in Kiev in February of the same year.