Russia-Ukraine spar threatens to revive Crimea conflict

In this file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin is flanked by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, and Federal Security Service Chief Alexander Bortnikov.

Ukraine’s President put his Army on combat alert on Thursday along the country’s de facto borders with Crimea as a war of words between Russia and Ukraine threatened to heat up the largely frozen conflict over the Black Sea peninsula.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued the order after Moscow accused his country of sending in “saboteurs” to carry out attacks in Crimea.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum, a move that sparked fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian intelligence service FSB issued a statement on Wednesday, saying one of its officers was killed over the weekend a few km from the

de facto border between Crimea and Ukraine after a gun battle with a group of “saboteurs” from Ukraine. They also reported another alleged incident in which two more groups tried to force their way into Crimea early on Monday, supported by Ukrainian artillery and armour. Ukraine rejected the claims as “fantasy” and “a provocation.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin upped the ante on Thursday morning when he directly accused the Ukrainian government of plotting the attacks and called a meeting of the country’s top brass to discuss boosting security in Crimea. Within hours, Mr. Poroshenko ordered the Ukrainian Army to go on combat alert not only on the de facto border with Crimea but also along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine.

Peace talks in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in 2015 helped ease the fighting but did not solve the crisis. While the separatists never allowed Ukrainian forces to regain control of the border, Ukraine has also not adopted legislation to provide broad autonomy to these territories. — AP