Ukraine gathers international support amid Russian buildup

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko
posted on Facebook on April 11 that Ukraine had received support from the
international community in the face of Russia’s military buildup. He wrote that
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had spoken with 16 international partners in 11
days. These included (in the order he listed) Great Britain, Greece, Georgia,
Denmark, Estonia, Canada, Latvia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia,
the U.S., France, Sweden, the High Representative of the EC, and General
Secretary of OSCE. On their own, the foreign ministries of Bulgaria, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland and Czechia had called.

Over the weekend, President Volodymyr Zelensky paid a
working visit to Turkey, in which Turkish president Recep Erdogan “strongly
defended Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty”, according to
apnews.com. Turkey and Ukraine inked defense and security deals as well.

Also, on April 10, OSCE countries condemned Russia’s
troop increases, pravda.com.ua reported on April 11. An OSCE meeting held to
get Russia to explain its actions, was called by Ukraine, but Russia refused to
participate.

Pravda.com.ua also reports that Russian President
Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, stated that “no is going to move
to war” and that “Russia has never been a threat to anyone.”

He also reiterated Russian claims of care for Russian
speakers in south-eastern Ukraine, but that its troop movements were its
domestic business only.

James Hydzik: In 2011,
OSCE drew up the Vienna Document, which put in place regulations on troop
movements, especially in terms of exercises. Russia has signed to this. The
rules include notifications, and for exercises involving more than 13,000
troops, OSCE observers. However, the Vienna Document is non-binding. Russia
ignoring the document is no surprise. The question remains as to whether the
international support for Ukraine is any stronger. What it does mean, though,
is that should any of Ukraine’s partners decide to support materially, there
should be no dissent.