BERLIN. Aug 18 (Interfax) - The massing and moving of armed forces on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine is due to hostilities in the region and the need to provide national security, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"Here you cannot be too cautious, we must show vigilance. At any rate, on our territory we are entitled to make the decisions we consider necessary for the provision of our security," he told reporters in Berlin on Monday.
"A real war is going on within a few kilometers, if not hundreds of meters, from our border," he said.
"I will remind you once again: there is a real war going on that side of the border, involving artillery, aviation, multiple rocket launchers, and according to some reports, ballistic missiles which are being fired at Luhansk. All this is literally taking place within a few kilometers from our border," Lavrov said.
"There were many cases when shells fly into Russian territory," he said.
"We are not suggesting that it was deliberate, it was probably an accident, out of incompetence, but that happens. There are human casualties, damage in the civilian sector on the Russian side. A couple of months ago Ukrainian armored vehicles were crossing our territory: apparently, in a hurry, having overlooked that they'd crossed the border," the minister said.