Washington blames Moscow for violence in Donbas / Photo from zr.ru
Attempts by Russia and Russian-backed militants to seize additional Ukrainian territory in the country's east will be met with "increased costs," according to a spokeswoman of the U.S. Department of State.
"Any new attack or aggressive action by combined Russian separatist forces is unacceptable and contravenes the Minsk agreements. Russia bears direct responsibility for preventing these attacks and implementing a ceasefire. Any attempts to seize additional Ukrainian territory will be met with increased costs," U.S. Department of State Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications Marie Harf said at a briefing on June 3.
According to her, the U.S. Department of State is disturbed by reports that "combined Russian separatist forces launched coordinated attacks overnight against Ukrainian positions near Donetsk, Pisky, Luhansk and Maryinka."