Ukrainian Crisis Escalates
April 16, 2014
NATO announced today that it is reinforcing its defenses in the Baltic States and central Europe. In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated that in the face of the current crisis in Ukraine, NATO is putting “more planes in the air, mores ships on the water, more readiness on the land.” The announcement came as Ukraine forces are moving into eastern Ukraine to retake control of the region and as Russia has massed 40,000 troops along its border with Ukraine.
Secretary Rasmussen called on Russia to make clear it did not “support the violent actions of well-armed militias or pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.” In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by telephoning United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Putin demanded “clear condemnation from the United Nations and the international community of the anti-constitutional actions” taken by the interim Ukrainian government by launching a military campaign against pro-Russian separatists in the east.”
For additional information on the Ukrainian crisis, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.
Additional World Book article:
- Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
