Russia has right to move forces at home the way it likes, Kremlin says after call with Merkel

FILE PHOTO: A militant of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) walks in a trench at fighting positions on the line of separation from the Ukrainian armed forces in the settlement of Donetskyi in Luhansk Region, Ukraine April 8, 2021. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has a right to move its military forces around its territory the way it likes, a Kremlin spokesman said on Friday, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel told President Vladimir Putin to pull back the build-up near the border with Ukraine.

Dmitry Peskov also told a daily conference call with reporters that the situation in eastern Ukraine was "very unstable... creating risks of full-scale combat operations."