Brussels The NATO countries are increasing their warnings of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said after a NATO meeting in Brussels that he sees signs that Russia is preparing an invasion.
Russia has brought additional blood supplies to the border area and there are more fighter jets than usual. “I was a soldier myself not long ago. I know firsthand that you don’t do these things without a reason,” Austin said. “And you certainly don’t do those things when you’re getting ready to pack up and go home.”
Russia is ready for an attack, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “They have enough troops and capabilities for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine with very little or no warning,” he said.
The heads of state and government of the EU also met at the same time as the NATO defense ministers. The EU is prepared to react to aggression, said Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) after the meeting. Along the Ukrainian border, troops have been massed on Russian soil, Belarusian soil and in the Black Sea, with which an invasion is possible. That is “not to be overlooked”. The situation remains difficult and threatening.
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Secret services accuse Russia of lying
The secret services of the USA and Great Britain see the alleged withdrawal of Russian troops as a deception. On the contrary, you speak of further reinforcements on the border with Ukraine.
Since Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry has reported that troops in the south-west of the country have completed their exercises and are being ordered to their barracks. This is underscored by video footage of tanks being loaded onto trains.
On Wednesday evening, the White House accused Russia of adding 7,000 more troops to its 150,000-strong force. New ones would be added every day. The findings of the secret services are “quite reliable”.
The West has expressed serious doubts about the partial withdrawal of troops announced by Russia to ease the Ukraine conflict.
(Photo: dpa)
The British services have come to a similar conclusion: “Contrary to claims, Russia continues to build military capabilities near Ukraine,” said Jim Hockenhull, head of military intelligence. Additional armored vehicles were sighted, helicopters and a field hospital being taken towards Ukraine.
Stoltenberg had already said on Tuesday that he could not confirm the reports of troop withdrawals. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Russia had begun a partial withdrawal of its troops. But this takes time. An invasion of Ukraine is not planned, but developments in the Donbass are being monitored very closely.
Shots could be used as an excuse
Reports of shots fired in eastern Ukraine are also worrying. The region is occupied by pro-Russian separatists, and there is actually a ceasefire between them and the Ukrainian government’s troops.
However, the separatists report that they have been attacked. Ukraine denies this. On the contrary, artillery fired on them, but did not return fire. The separatists hit a kindergarten and school near Luhansk. Students had to flee to the basement, two civilians are said to have been slightly injured.
A Ukrainian government official said the shelling went beyond normal levels and called it a “provocation”. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell spoke of “increasing fighting and heavy shelling” accompanied by disinformation that Russians were being attacked in eastern Ukraine.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) repeatedly finds violations of the ceasefire. However, these reports are now being observed particularly closely. The fear is that Russia could use gunfire from government troops as an excuse to invade Ukraine.
The German Chancellor and the US President met in person about a week and a half ago to talk about the conflict in Ukraine.
(Photo: AP)
“Just as the Russian claims about the troop withdrawal were false, so will the pretexts to justify the war be false,” the White House said. “No one should take these claims at face value.”
The Lithuanian President pointed out that Russia had also concentrated troops in Belarus. 55,000 soldiers and 400 rockets are stationed there, said Gitanas Nauseda. This causes concern in his country and changes the security conditions. Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, is just 40 kilometers from the Belarusian border. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that the maneuvers in Belarus would end on February 20.
EU sees gas supply secured
A diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict is currently not foreseeable. Chancellor Scholz said he wanted to use all diplomatic opportunities. He mentioned the talks between the US and Russia, the NATO-Russia Council, the OSCE and the Normandy format in which Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine are negotiating with each other.
It is about implementing the Minsk Agreement of 2015. At that time, conditions for a ceasefire were negotiated between the two sides. However, the agreement has not been implemented, and the separatists had already conquered other areas in the first few days after it was signed.
EU foreign policy chief Borrell said that the current discussion is not about restoring the Minsk agreement, but about the specific security situation at the border.
The EU Commission, however, assured that it sees itself well prepared in the event that Russia should stop gas supplies. A spokeswoman said many ships carrying liquid gas had been diverted to Europe. In January, 120 ships brought a total of ten billion cubic meters of LNG to Europe. This secures the energy supply. In addition, talks with partner countries about further deliveries continued.
More: The developments in the Ukraine conflict in the Newsblog