Ukrainian President salutes military as tensions in Russia soar | Breaking News Updates

KYIV, Ukraine – The Ukrainian president on Monday hailed the country’s military, saying its forces are able to fend off a potential attack from Moscow as tensions soar over a build-up of Russian troops near the border Ukrainian.

Ukrainian and Western officials fear the Russian military concentration may herald the Kremlin’s plan to attack its neighbor, a concern that is expected to dominate a call on Tuesday between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the country’s army as a “highly competent and highly organized force, confident in its potential and capable of derailing any expansionist plan of the enemy.”

“The Ukrainian military continue to perform their most important mission – to protect the freedom and sovereignty of the state against the Russian aggressor,” said Zelenskyy, who donned combat fatigues during a visit to troops near from the area of ​​a separatist conflict in the east of the country. .

Conflict with Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine’s eastern industrial center erupted weeks after Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Fighting claimed more than 14,000 lives and efforts to negotiate a regulation are at a standstill.

US intelligence officials have determined that Russia has assembled around 70,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and has started planning for a possible invasion early next year.

Moscow has denied making plans to attack Ukraine and has dismissed Western concerns in efforts to smear Russia.

At the same time, Putin urged the West to provide guarantees that would exclude Ukraine from joining NATO and the deployment of alliance weapons on its territory.