VIENNA, April 14. /TASS/. Western curators of Kiev, namely the US and NATO, are essentially turning Ukraine into Europe’s "powder keg," Yulia Zhdanova, an advisor to the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, said at an urgent joint meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation and the OSCE Permanent Council.

Representatives of OSCE member states are holding a session at the request of Ukraine on April 14 over unusual military activity on the border between Russia and Ukraine. The Russian delegation opposed approving any decisions or recommendations during this OSCE session.

"The actions and the rhetoric of the foreign "curators" of the Kiev government - the US and their NATO allies - show that they are pushing their "clients" towards a military resolution of the issue (in Donbass - TASS). Despite vowing to be committed to a peaceful regulation, they are essentially turning Ukraine into the "powder keg" of Europe," Zhdanova’s statement reads.

The Russian emissary mentioned the training and the funding of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and other armed formations, as well as providing them with intelligence data and political cover by the West as an example. "Besides, NATO states are supplying units of Ukrainian government forces with anti-tank equipment, armored vehicles, radar counter-bombardment systems, sniper rifles, unmanned drones, boats, and ammunition of various kinds," she noted.

Tensions in Donbass surged at the end of February, as exchanges of gunfire involving mortars and grenade launchers were registered daily despite the agreement on additional measures to secure a ceasefire dated July 22, 2020.

Serious gun battles have resumed on the line of contact, with both sides reporting casualties and wounded. Ukraine accused the Donbass republics of this de-escalation. In turn, the self-proclaimed republics stated that the reason for this flare-up was Kiev’s non-adherence to the July agreements.