With a partial mobilization, the passage of arms is getting closer and closer.
(Photo: dpa)
Kiev, Moscow Ukraine is alarmed: after Russia began sending the first units to the separatist areas protected by Moscow, Kiev is preparing for a possible military strike. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine on Monday and ordered the deployment of Russian soldiers. This is interpreted as a clear intention to invade Ukraine for the second time since 2014.
In view of this threat, the Ukrainian Security Council declared a state of emergency, initially limited to 30 days. This could be accompanied by additional protections for public facilities, traffic restrictions and further controls in transport and checks of documents, said Oleksiy Danilov, the chairman of the council.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also announced a partial mobilization of reservists. “We have to operationally replenish the army and other military formations,” said the head of state in a video message. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have around 250,000 soldiers, and there are also around 140,000 reservists.
“We need to operationally replenish the army and other military formations,” the president said in a video message.
(Photo: dpa)
At the same time, the Ukrainian parliament approved a bill in the first reading that would allow the carrying of firearms. This is necessary because of the “existing threat and danger to the citizens”. In addition, the government in Kiev called on its compatriots to leave the neighboring country “immediately”. It is estimated that more than three million Ukrainians live permanently or temporarily in Russia.
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Numerous countries again pledged their support to Ukraine. Due to the escalation of the crisis in Russia and Ukraine, EU Council President Charles Michel has convened a special EU summit for this Thursday. In his letter of invitation on Wednesday, Michel wrote that he had invited the 27 EU heads of state and government to discuss “how we hold Russia accountable for its actions”. It is about protecting the rules-based international order and supporting Ukraine and its people.
The triggers are reports from security circles that Russia cannot stop at recognizing the areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, but wants to take military action in Ukraine. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Putin of lying, but also signaled a willingness to talk. “If you said A a week ago and now you’re doing the opposite, then you haven’t told the truth. Or in German: Then you lied,” she said. “Even in the worst crisis, we always have to keep the window open for talks.”
The White House meanwhile ruled out a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Putin and announced that it would move additional soldiers and equipment to Eastern Europe. Biden called Putin’s actions the “beginning of an invasion”. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced further arms deliveries. “Given Russia’s increasingly threatening behavior and in line with our past support, the UK will shortly provide another package of military assistance to Ukraine,” Johnson said in parliament.
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Meanwhile, the situation in eastern Ukraine is becoming more and more critical. International observers counted another 1,000 explosions on Tuesday. There the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists face each other. Videos on social media show how heavy war equipment and tanks are being brought into the regions occupied by the separatists. Despite the first wave of sanctions by Western states, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin stepped up the pace: Immediately after the upper house of the Russian parliament gave him a free hand to send troops abroad, the Kremlin chief sent the first units to the separatist areas “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DPR) and ” Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).
Numerous videos on social media show tank columns rolling towards Ukraine. The extent of the troop movement is currently estimated at several thousand soldiers and hundreds of military vehicles. According to official Russian information, these are units from the southern military district, which extends from Rostov to the Caucasus.
Ukrainian soldiers take part in a demonstration.
(Photo: dpa)
The hasty evacuation of the Russian diplomatic corps from Ukraine is also an indication of an imminent military intervention. The diplomats are apparently trying to destroy data before they leave. Videos show them burning documents. The Russian flags have been taken down at both the embassy and the consulate general in Odessa. “Several cars left the consulate premises in the morning,” said a member of the Ukrainian National Guard on duty near the Russian consulate in Odessa.
Putin’s patriotic pathos
Meanwhile, Putin is stepping up his efforts at patriotic pathos. On Defender of the Fatherland Day, the President laid a wreath at the grave of the Unknown Soldier. In his speech on this official holiday, he emphasized that Russia has greatly modernized its armed forces in recent years. “Our army now possesses weapons that are unparalleled anywhere in the world,” he said. He announced that the Kremlin will continue to push the modernization of the armed forces, relying on hypersonic weapons, the latest digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
He justified the armament with the “difficult” international situation, the “disruption of the arms control system” and “NATO’s military activities”. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also renewed his accusations against the West. This tries to drive the confrontation with Russia to the extreme.
At the same time, Lavrov criticized UN Secretary-General António Guterres. On Tuesday, he not only expressed concern about the escalation in Donbass. He had also described the Russian interpretation of a Ukrainian genocide against the Russian-speaking civilian population as baseless and rejected Moscow’s requests to recognize its military as peacekeepers. Guterres had come under “pressure from the West,” Lavrov reprimanded.
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