The diplomatic efforts A series of telephone conversations between Western leaders and Moscow on Saturday failed to ease tensions over Ukraine, with the Kremlin denouncing US “hysteria” and US President Joe Biden threatening Russian Rosmo. Putin for “serious and rapid consequences” in case of attack.
Washington on Friday insisted on the danger of an “imminent” invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has amassed more than 100,000 troops near its neighbor’s border and has just begun military exercises in the Black Sea and Belarus, de facto encircling the country.
An invasion would have “serious and rapid effects” for Russia, Biden warned his Russian counterpart yesterday, Saturday, during their telephone communication.
“The hysteria has reached its peak,” said Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic adviser Yuri Usakov, noting, however, that the two presidents had agreed to “continue contacts at all levels.”
For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned yesterday, following a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, against a possible Russian “challenge” in a guise of war.
“No one should be surprised if Russia launches a provocation or an incident, which it will then use to justify a military action it had planned from the beginning,” he said.
Weapons deliveries
Ever since Russian troops began concentrating near the border with Ukraine in November, Moscow has denied any intention of invading its neighbor, but has called for an end to NATO expansion and Western support for the former Soviet Union. democracy, which it considers to belong to its own sphere of influence.
In a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday, Putin criticized the “large deliveries of modern equipment” in the neighboring country, saying that they create “conditions for possible offensive by Ukrainian forces” in eastern Ukraine, where Russia supports here. and eight years of armed separatists.
No panic
The list of countries that urged their citizens to leave Ukraine continues to grow, including mainly the USA, Germany, Italy, Britain, the Netherlands, Canada, Norway or even Australia, Japan and Israel.
KLM airline announced yesterday the suspension of flights to Ukraine until further notice.
Moscow has also recalled some of its diplomatic staff, saying it fears “challenges” from the Ukrainian authorities or “third countries”.
The United States has ordered the withdrawal of most US embassy staff in Kiev, saying a Russian offensive could “start at any time and without warning.”
Canada announced yesterday that it was temporarily closing its embassy in Kiev and moving its operations to a temporary office in Lviv, in western Ukraine.
At the same time, Australia announced today that it is removing its last diplomats who remained in their position in Kiev, transferring its activities to Lviv.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that US warnings about an imminent Russian attack on Ukraine “cause panic and do not help” the Ukrainians.
“All this information (regarding a possible attack) only causes panic and does not help us,” he said.
Thousands of protesters marched in Kiev yesterday, saying they refused to panic despite taking the threat seriously.
“Panic is useless. We must unite and fight for our independence,” said Maria Terstenko, a student holding a banner reading “I keep calm. I love Ukraine.”
Submarine
Adding to the tensions, Russia yesterday launched new naval exercises in the Black Sea for “defense” exercises of Crimea, the peninsula that was annexed in 2014 by Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry also announced that the Russian navy used “appropriate means” yesterday for a US submarine to leave Russian waters in the Pacific Ocean.
“There is no truth to Russia’s allegations about our operations in their own territorial waters,” the US military said in a statement.
Westerners rule out the involvement of their armies in the event of war, but have predicted catastrophic financial retaliation.
This crisis is, according to Westerners, the most dangerous in Europe since the end of the Cold War.
The White House has already outlined the scenario of a Russian attack, referring to possible “aerial bombardment and rocket fire” and a possible attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
German Chancellor Olaf Soltz is now expected to take the baton in crisis talks, heading to Kiev on Monday and Moscow on Tuesday.
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