Several high-level talks have been held today regarding the threat of Russian invasion. According to Russia, the situation in eastern Ukraine has deteriorated.
The situation on the eastern Ukrainian-Russian border shows no signs of easing. We put together four things for this story that have been talked about in the situation on Friday.
Allegations of firing
Both the Ukrainian army and the rebels in eastern Ukraine have accused each other of firing.
According to the Ukrainian army, Russian-backed rebels have broken the ceasefire 60 times in the last 24 hours.
According to the rebels, Ukrainian forces would have fired on a village in eastern Ukraine on Friday. The allegations are a continuation of yesterday’s events, when the Ukrainian army and rebel forces accused each other of violating the ceasefire and attacks in eastern Ukraine.
Leader of Russian-backed rebels Denis Pushilin Donetsk announced on Friday that residents of the area will begin to be evacuated to Russia. According to Russian news agencies, evacuations have already begun. In addition, an evacuation notice has been issued in Luhansk.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Munich Security Conference today, he reiterated the U.S. assessment that Russia was looking for an excuse to attack Ukraine to justify it.
According to Blinken, the artillery and grenade attacks of recent days are a provocation by Russia to justify its aggression against Ukraine.
Blinken and Lavrov may meet in Finland
Diplomatic discussions to resolve the situation are still ongoing. In addition to the Munich Security Conference, leaders from several different countries are also discussing in other arenas.
The President of the United States Joe Biden is scheduled to talk over the phone today with several Western leaders about the threat of an Russian invasion.
According to sources in the news agency AFP, the meeting will be attended by leaders from Britain, Italy, Canada, Poland, France, Romania, Germany, the European Union and NATO.
U.S. and Russian defense ministers Lloyd Austin and Sergei Shoigu discussed the situation in Ukraine today, the Russian news agency Interfax reports.
Foreign Ministers Antony Blinken and Sergei Lavrovin is due to meet next week. Finland may host a meeting of foreign ministers, Russian news agencies say.
United States: Russia concentrates more troops in the region
According to the United States, Russia has concentrated more and more troops on Ukraine’s borders. The United States estimates that there would be as many as 190,000 Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.
At the end of January, the United States estimated that there would be about 100,000 troops in the area.
US Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter estimates on Friday that this is the largest troop transfer ever made in Europe since World War II.
Russia, for its part, claimed today that several of its infantry had returned from the Crimean peninsula to their bases.
Putin: The situation in eastern Ukraine has worsened
President of Russia Vladimir Putin according to him, the situation in eastern Ukraine is getting worse.
Putin spoke at a press conference today with the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko with. According to Putin, the joint military exercise of the countries has not threatened Ukraine.
The military exercise between Russia and Belarus is scheduled to end on Sunday.
According to Putin, Western countries have not taken Russia’s demands seriously. Among other things, Russia has demanded that the military alliance NATO no longer expand to the east.
What thoughts does the story evoke? You can discuss the topic on 19.2. until 11 p.m.