Biden raises concerns with Putin about Ukraine confrontation

President Joe Biden on Tuesday spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, directly raising concerns about Russian military buildup on Ukraine border

Biden (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

President Joe Biden on Tuesday spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin directly raising concerns about the Russian military buildup on Ukraine s border.

The call comes amid a surge of cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-baсked separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.

More than 14,000 people have died in fighting in eastern Ukraine and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled.

Western and Ukrainian officials have raised concerns about increasingly frequent cease-fire violations in the conflict area. Reports of Ukraine’s military casualties have been occurring daily over the past week, and rebels also have reported losses.