Russia-Backed Separatists Conduct Military Exercises, Ukraine Warns

Ukraine's military warned on Friday that Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country were conducting military exercises, completing a siege near  Ukraine by hostile forces, even as the moves of diplomacy had not reached the ground.

The drills tested the force's readiness to fire live ammunition, practicing "driving artillery vehicles and armored tanks" during field exercises, according to the Ukrainian statement. The statement said some units of this force were put on the highest alert and senior officers of the Russian army were observing the operation.

The warning is the latest evidence of a move from Kiev and his alarming comments about the military threat facing Ukraine. It comes after weeks of efforts to minimize the risk of an invasion,  to appease the public, and limit the economic impact of rising tensions.

To the south, the Russian Navy on Thursday announced the closure of large sections of the Black Sea for fleet live-fire exercises that will effectively block Ukrainian ports, including Odessa port. The naval exercises will begin on Sunday and last six days. Russia has massed armored vehicles and troops near its borders in northeastern Ukraine and southern Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

Ukraine and Western governments consider the separatists, which include some 30,000 soldiers, to be controlled and armed by the Russian government, while Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have consistently denied accepting any Russian role in the conflict.

At a press conference that lasted well past midnight in Berlin,  Russian and Ukrainian negotiators said a channel of negotiations backed by French President Emmanuel Macron had so far yielded no breakthrough.

The negotiations focused on a settlement agreement for the war in eastern Ukraine, but were seen as a possible way to defuse broader tensions over Russia's rise.