WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of destabilizing Ukraine through "land grabs," warning Moscow and the rebels had failed to meet the terms of a tattered ceasefire.
Putin had put in place policies which "violate all the international norms with respect to territory and behavior," Kerry told lawmakers.
"In Luhansk, and Donetsk, and now in Debaltseve, he has empowered, encouraged, and facilitated directly land grabs in order to try to destabilize Ukraine itself."
For a long time "the respect for international boundaries, and lines, and not taking territory by force, and subterfuge has been the standard for which nations have been trying to fight," Kerry told the House foreign affairs committee on Wednesday.
Top US officials have lashed Putin and his ministers in recent days as the fighting has continued in Ukraine, with Kerry on Tuesday directly accusing Russian leaders of lying "to my face" over the conflict.
"To date, neither Russia nor the forces it is supporting have come close to complying with their commitments," Kerry said Wednesday in a prepared statement to lawmakers on the second day of intense congressional hearings.
And he renewed warnings that "if failure continues, there will be further consequences -- consequences that would place added strains on Russia's weakened economy."
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