Contrary to the announcements of Moscow, the Westerners and Kiev affirm this Wednesday, February 16 not to note a withdrawal of Russian soldiers to the borders of Ukraine.
After caution, skepticism. While Moscow announced yesterday the beginning of a partial withdrawal of its soldiers massed on the borders of Ukraine, Westerners say they see no sign of Russian de-escalation. The Russian Threat is there, she is real “, thus affirmed the head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken to the chain ABC, ensuring to see “ forces which would be at the forefront of a possible aggression (…) which continue to be massed on the border “.
” It appears that Russia continues to strengthen its military presence “, echoed the boss of NATO Jens Stoltenberg at the start of a meeting with the Ministers of Defense of the Alliance in Brussels. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian assured that Russia was still concentrating ” so many strengths around Ukraine and that announcements of withdrawal of Russian units were yet to be ” verified “.
Ukraine “is not afraid”
” We don’t see any changes. We see a troop buildup that hasn’t changed in recent weeks “, for his part declared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying that he had observed “ small spins of the Russian forces. Ukraine has no not afraid » and goes « defend “, he promised. President Zelensky, who decreed this Wednesday Unity Day, had attended earlier in the day maneuvers of his army in the west of the country, during which anti-tank weapons delivered by the West were notably used for the first time. ” Thank you for defending our state. When I look at you, I trust “, he declared to the soldiers present.
Westerners have been worried for weeks about the risks of an attack on Ukraine by Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops on the borders of this country, an explosive situation at the heart of the worst crisis with Moscow since the end of the Cold War. While increasing diplomatic negotiations, with a new meeting between US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz scheduled for Wednesday evening, they warned that massive economic sanctions were ready in the event of action by Moscow, which denies any intention of invasion.
The Russian army announced the end of exercises and the departure of soldiers from the annexed peninsula of Crimea, in the south of Ukraine, publishing a video claiming to show wagons loaded with military equipment leaving the night zone. A similar announcement had been made the day before. Belarus also promised on Wednesday that all Russian soldiers deployed on its territory as part of maneuvers would leave the country at the scheduled end of these exercises on February 20.
Hand held out
Withdrawal ” would be positive “But still needs to be verified,” US President Joe Biden had commented the day before during a short speech from the White House, saying that “ an invasion remains quite possible “. However, he reached out to Moscow, saying he was open to diplomacy, an announcement welcomed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Moscow deplores the rejection by the West of its main demands, in particular the end of the policy of enlargement of the Alliance, in particular to Ukraine, and the withdrawal of NATO’s military infrastructure from Eastern Europe. ‘East. For their part, the West has proposed talks on subjects such as arms control.
Alongside claims of partial troop withdrawal, Moscow opened a new front with a vote in the Russian parliament on Tuesday calling on Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of separatist territories in Ukraine. It would be a “ gross violation of international law “Warned Antony Blinken on Wednesday.
In this tense context, Chinese President Xi Jinping called, during an interview with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, to ” seek a comprehensive solution to the Ukrainian question through dialogue and consultation “, according to the Chinese official news agency New China.
(With AFP)