Tensions continue to mount between the United States and Russia over alleged Russian military operations inside Ukraine. On Thursday, NATO released satellite images it says show Russian artillery, vehicles and troops in and around eastern Ukraine. At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia of duplicity.
Samantha Power: “Instead of listening, instead of heeding the demands of the international community and the rules of the international order, at every step Russia has come before this Council to say everything except the truth. It has manipulated. It has obfuscated. It has outright lied. So we have learned to measure Russia by its actions and not by its words. In the last 48 hours, Russia’s actions have spoken volumes.”
Russia has questioned the satellite photos, accused the United States of meddling, and blamed Ukraine for failing to honor previous agreements. A new Human Rights Watch report, meanwhile, accuses the Russian-backed separatist rebels of arbitrarily detaining civilians and subjecting them to torture, degrading treatment and forced labor. Ambassadors from the 28 NATO countries and Ukraine are holding an emergency meeting today.
