In yet another advance in fear of a possible Russian attack, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, said on Friday (3) that Moscow has more than 94,000 soldiers gathered near the country’s border and is preparing to a military offensive probably scheduled as early as the end of January.
Citing intelligence reports, Reznikov told parliament that Ukraine would not provoke the situation but would be ready to fight back if Vladimir Putin’s government took the first step.
Ukraine and the country’s allies in NATO (Western Military Alliance) have been ringing the alarm for months about the movement of Russian troops near the country’s border, with the possibility of an escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The US claimed in November that Putin would be ready to invade the eastern European country whenever he wants.
Kiev has pleaded with the European Union (EU) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for severe economic sanctions to be imposed on Russia in an attempt to discourage an attack, even though such measures have not been tailored.
The European Council, which brings together the 27 member countries of the bloc, approved on Thursday (2) a package of 31 million euros (BRL 198 million) to help the government of President Volodimir Zelenski to enhance its security. The money, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, will be spent on medical supplies, cybersecurity and logistics.
During a meeting Thursday with Russian Chancellor Sergei Lavrov in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, Blinken warned Moscow about the “serious costs” that Russia would pay if it invaded Ukraine, urging the country to seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Lavrov, on the other hand, according to Russian diplomacy reports, has asked Washington for “long-term security guarantees” at its borders and, above all, for a commitment that NATO does not incorporate Ukraine into its membership — Ukrainians want to be part of the club military, which is unacceptable for Russia.
Kiev claims that Russia does not have the right to block the Ukrainian government’s closer ties with NATO and that Moscow’s moves in that direction would have no legitimacy. “Any proposals by Russia to discuss guarantees that the alliance would not expand into Eastern Europe are illegitimate,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
US and Russian officials are trying to organize a meeting between the US president, Democrat Joe Biden, and Vladimir Putin, via video call. The date of the possible meeting has not yet been released.
The Kremlin accuses the US and Ukraine of alarming the international community with false allegations about Russian intentions. While he denies the goal of invading the neighboring country, he says the chances of a new conflict in eastern Ukraine remain high given Kiev’s provocative actions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call on Thursday that Moscow was concerned about the possibility of a Ukrainian military move into eastern Ukraine, something Kiev denies having planned.
The relationship between Ukraine, the former Soviet republic, and Russia fell apart in 2014, when Putin, reacting to the coup that toppled the pro-Moscow government in Kiev, annexed the Crimea region and started a civil war that it made eastern Ukraine a territory dominated by separatists. An estimated 14,000 people have died in the fighting since then.
This year, Putin carried out military rallies and exercises on the border, scaring the West, to dissuade the Ukrainian government from taking action to retake rebel areas.
Ukraine, meanwhile, received a large shipment of US ammunition and Javelin missiles earlier this year, prompting criticism from Moscow and heightening tension in the region.
Although there are currently no announced military exercises, specialists see the deployment of armored divisions as a threat of invasion for the coldest months of the year, when the terrain is frozen and is more easily crossed.
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