World Powers Call for Calm as Putin Bolsters Crimea Defense
- Putin vows ‘serious additional measures’ on annexed peninsula
- EU, U.S., NATO say there’s no evidence backing ‘terror’ claim
Russian servicemen at Red Square before the start of a parade in Moscow, on May 9, 2016.
Photographer: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty ImagesWorld powers urged Russia and Ukraine to refrain from ratcheting up a confrontation over Crimea as President Vladimir Putin bolstered the disputed peninsula’s military with some of his army’s most advanced air-defense missile systems.
The European Union said there was no independent confirmation of claims that Ukrainian agents had killed two Russian servicemen in Crimea. Putin pledged a “very serious” response as he blamed Kiev for pursuing “terror” activities. The 28-member bloc called on both sides to refrain from intensifying what has led to the worst diplomatic standoff between the two countries since a 2015 truce eased hostilities in Ukraine’s separatist conflict. Germany said that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, next week in Russia.