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Russia Denies Intentions to Invade, Accuses Ukraine of Sabotaging the Minsk Agreements, Biden Warns Putin of Swift and Severe Costs

February 14, 2022

 

Ukrainian Demonstrators in Kyiv shouting slogans of resistance to a Western-claimed potential invasion, February 12, 2022.

 

Biden Warns Putin That Ukraine Attack Will Bring ‘Swift and Severe Costs’

By AFP.  

Published by Kyiv Post, Feb. 13, 2022

Efforts to defuse the crisis in Ukraine via a frenzy of telephone diplomacy failed to ease tensions Saturday, with the White House insisting that Russia faces “swift and severe costs” if its troops carry out an invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed Western claims that such a move might be on the horizon, calling the idea “provocative speculation” that could lead to a conflict in the ex-Soviet country, according to a Russian readout of a call with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Weeks of tensions that have seen Russia nearly surround its western neighbour with more than 100,000 troops intensified after Washington warned that an all-out invasion could begin “any day” and Russia launched its biggest naval drills in years across the Black Sea.

“If Russia undertakes a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States together with our Allies and partners will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia,“

US President Joe Biden told Putin, according to the White House.

While the United States was prepared to engage in diplomacy, "we are equally prepared for other scenarios", Biden said, as the two nations stare down one of the gravest crises in East-West relations since the Cold War.

While the Biden-Putin talks were "professional and substantive", lasting just over an hour, they produced "no fundamental change" in dynamics, a senior US official told reporters.

Russia's defence ministry added to the febrile atmosphere by announcing that it had chased off a US submarine that it alleged had crossed into its territorial waters near the Kuril Islands in the northern Pacific.

The ministry said it had summoned the US defence attache in Moscow over the incident, while the Pentagon said only that it was aware of press reports.

Putin began his afternoon by holding talks with Macron that the French presidency said lasted one hour and 40 minutes. Macron's office said "both expressed a desire to continue dialogue" but, like Washington, reported no clear progress.

'Possible provocations'

Russia on Saturday added to the ominous tone by pulling some of its diplomatic staff out of Ukraine. The foreign ministry in Moscow said its decision was prompted by fears of "possible provocations from the Kyiv regime".

But Washington and a host of European countries along with Israel cited the growing threat of a Russian invasion as they called on their citizens to leave Ukraine as soon possible.

Britain and the United States also pulled out most of their remaining military advisors while the US embassy ordered "most" of its Kyiv staff to leave.

Dutch carrier KLM announced that it was suspending commercial flights to Ukraine until further notice. The prospect of fleeing Westerners prompted Kyiv to issue an appeal to its citizens to "remain calm".

“Right now, the people's biggest enemy is panic,“

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on a visit to troops stationed near the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea. Several thousand Ukrainians braved the winter cold to march through Kyiv in a show of unity amid the growing fears of war. "Panic is useless," said student Maria Shcherbenko as the crowd waved Ukraine's blue-and-yellow flags and sang the national anthem. "We must unite and fight for independence."

'Any day now'

Washington on Friday issued its most dire warning yet that Russia had assembled enough forces to launch a serious assault. "Our view that military action could occur any day now, and could occur before the end of the Olympics, is only growing in terms of its robustness," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned.

US military assessments had earlier said the Kremlin may want to wait for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games to end on February 20 before launching an offensive so as not to offend Russia's ally China.

Ukrainian leaders have been trying to talk down the prospects of an all-out war because of the damaging effect such fears were having on the country's teetering economy and public morale.

But the mood across the country remained tense. The mayor's office of Kyiv announced that it had prepared an emergency evacuation plan for the capital's three million residents as a precaution.

Sullivan stopped short on Friday of saying that the United States has concluded that Putin has made the decision to attack. But some US and German media cited intelligence sources and officials as saying that a war could begin at some point after Putin concludes talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Moscow on Tuesday.

The German leader is due to travel to Kyiv on Monday and then visit Putin as Europe strives to keep lines of communication open with Moscow. Russia is seeking binding security guarantees from the West that include a pledge to roll NATO forces out of eastern Europe and to never expand into Ukraine.

Washington has flatly rejected the demands while offering to discuss a new European disarmament agreement with Moscow. Sullivan also repeated warnings that Russia risked severe Western sanctions and said that NATO is now "more cohesive, more purposeful, more dynamic than any time in recent memory".

Germany's Scholz has added his voice to European pledges to punish Russia with severe economic sanctions targeting its financial and energy sector if it attacks.

Biden Warns Putin That Ukraine Attack Will Bring 'Swift and Severe Costs' - KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice

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Ukraine Says ‘Critically Important to Remain Calm’

By AFP.  

Published by Kyiv Post, Feb. 12, 2022

Ukraine urged its citizens on Saturday to keep calm and avoid panicking in the face of mounting worries that Russia is preparing to invade its neighbour.

The appeal came a day after the United States and a host of European countries urged their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately because of the growing danger of a full-scale offensive by Russian forces encircling the former Soviet state.

“At the moment, it is critically important to remain calm, to consolidate inside the country, to avoid destabilising actions and those that sow panic,“

the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Washington dramatically raised the stakes on Friday by warning that Russia could attack "any day now".

Some US media suggested the invasion could begin shortly after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz concludes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.

Kyiv has been trying to tone down the warnings coming out of Washington throughout the crisis.

The Ukrainian government fears the US statements are hurting public morale and damaging the country's struggling economy by crimping business activity.

“The armed force of Ukraine are constantly monitoring the situation and are ready to rebuff any encroachment on its territorial integrity and sovereignty,“

the foreign ministry said.

"Ukrainian diplomats are in constant contact with all its key partners, swiftly receiving the information needed to prepare a well-timed response."

Ukraine Says 'Critically Important to Remain Calm' - KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice

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Russia reveals details of Biden-Putin call

RT TV, February 13, 2022

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov has revealed details of the conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden shortly after the phone talks concluded on Saturday evening.

Speaking to reporters during a media briefing, Ushakov revealed that the talks were staged on Washington’s request with the US citing fears of an allegedly imminent ‘invasion’ of Ukraine by Russia. The Putin-Biden talks were originally scheduled to take place on Monday, the official added.

“The conversation came amid an atmosphere of unprecedented hysteria by US officials over Russia’s supposedly imminent ‘invasion’ of Ukraine,” Ushakov stated.

Putin has criticized Western efforts to militarize and “pump” Ukraine full of modern weaponry, and such policies effectively encourage Kiev to try and resolve the conflict in the country’s east by force, Ushakov noted.

“At the backdrop of the allegations regarding the ‘invasion’, conditions are being created for possible provocative actions by the Ukrainian armed forces,” he said.

Russia’s president spoke with Biden about “destructive” policies pursued by the Ukrainian authorities to “sabotage” the Minsk agreements, a major 2015 multinational deal that outlined a roadmap out of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Kiev forces face off the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia’s president stressed that the Western countries do not put enough “pressure” on Kiev to fulfill the deal, Ushakov noted.

The US president, for his part, mentioned the introduction of potential anti-Russian sanctions over the situation around Ukraine. Still, the sanctions talk was not the centerpiece of the Putin-Biden conversation, and all in all it was constructive and “businesslike,” Ushakov noted.

“Joe Biden mentioned possible anti-Russian sanctions, which was expected given the tense situation around Ukraine. At the same time, this issue was not at the center of the fairly long conversation with the Russian leader,” he said, adding that the two leaders have agreed to continue discussions in the future.

Over the past few months, top Western officials and media have repeatedly accused Moscow of seeking to attack Ukraine, with the allegedly looming ‘invasion’ repeatedly described as “imminent.” No solid evidence to back up such claims, however, has ever emerged.

The latest batch of claims came earlier on Saturday, when multiple media outlets cited anonymous sources who claimed that Moscow could attack Kiev next Wednesday. Moscow has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining it harbors no plans to attack Ukraine or anyone else.

Russia reveals details of Biden-Putin call — RT Russia & Former Soviet Union

US says Russia should resolve tensions

Washington has urged Moscow to work towards de-escalation regarding Ukraine US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a press conference with his counterparts, Chung Eui-yong of South Korea and Yoshimasa Hayashi of Japan in Honolulu, Hawaii, February 12, 2022.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says there is still an opportunity to resolve the ongoing standoff between NATO and Russia around Ukraine.

“A diplomatic path to resolving this crisis… remains open,” Blinken told reporters at a joint press conference with his counterparts, Hayashi Yoshimasa of Japan and Chung Eui-yong of South Korea in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday.

“The way for Moscow to show that it wants to pursue that path is simple: it should de-escalate, rather than escalate. And it should not only talk about seeking a diplomatic outcome, but actually work toward one.”

Blinken reiterated that the response from the US and its allies will be “severe” should Russia invade Ukraine, despite Moscow consistently denying any such plans. Blinken, however, insisted that “the risk of Russian military action is high enough, and the threat is imminent enough.”

Earlier on Saturday, the US ordered the evacuation of all non-emergency staff from its embassy in Kiev, citing fears of a possible Russian invasion.

The secretary of state spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the phone on Saturday, discussing ways to defuse tensions. Lavrov told Blinken that the US and its allies have been waging “a propaganda campaign” against Russia and “encouraging” Kiev to violate the ceasefire agreements with the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.

US says Russia should resolve tensions — RT Russia & Former Soviet Union

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U.S. says Russia may create pretext to attack Ukraine

By David Lawder  and Pavel Polityuk

Reuters, February 13, 2022

Summary

Washington says door for diplomacy remains open Russia calls U.S. warnings of invasion 'hysteria' U.S. OSCE observers start leaving east Ukraine Germany's Scholz in Kyiv on Monday, Moscow on Tuesday Germany officials

WASHINGTON/KYIV, Feb 13 (Reuters) -

The United States said on Sunday that Russia could invade Ukraine "any day now" and might create a surprise pretext for an attack, as the German chancellor prepared for talks this week with President Vladimir Putin to try to ease the crisis.

Washington has said the door for diplomacy remained open but it has also repeatedly said Russia's military, which has more than 100,000 troops massed near Ukraine, was poised to act.

Moscow denies any such plans and has called comments "hysteria", but no breakthrough that could ease the crisis has yet emerged from high-level talks between top Russian and Western officials in recent days.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for Russia to de-escalate on the eve of his trip that takes him to Kyiv on Monday and Moscow on Tuesday. A German official said Berlin did not expect "concrete results" but said diplomacy was important.

Scholz warned of sanctions if Moscow did invade.

"We cannot perfectly predict the day, but we have now been saying for some time that we are in the window, and an invasion could begin - a major military action could begin - by Russia in Ukraine any day now," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN.

Sullivan said Washington would continue sharing intelligence with the world to deny Moscow the ability to stage a surprise "false flag" operation that could be a pretext for an attack.

U.S. officials said they could not confirm reports that U.S. intelligance indicated Russia planned to invade on Wednesday.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who is due to speak to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday, told Putin in a call on Saturday the West would respond decisively to any invasion and such an attack would harm and isolate Moscow.

A senior U.S. administration official said Biden's call was substantive but that there was no fundamental change.

The Kremlin said Putin told Biden that Washington had failed to take Russia's main concerns into account and it had received no "substantial answer" on key elements of its security demands.

Putin wants guarantees from the United States and NATO that include blocking Ukraine's entry into NATO, refraining from missile deployments near Russia's borders and scaling back NATO's military infrastructure in Europe to 1997 levels.

Washington regards many of the proposals as non-starters but has pushed the Kremlin to discuss them jointly with Washington and its European allies.

DIPLOMATIC PATH

"The diplomatic path remains open. The way for Moscow to show that it wants to pursue that path is simple. It should de-escalate, rather than escalate," U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said after he held talks on Saturday with Asian allies.

Washington ordered most of its embassy staff on Saturday to leave Ukraine immediately. Its European allies and others have also been scaling back or evacuating staff from their Kyiv missions and have urged citizens to leave or avoid travel to Ukraine.

U.S. staff at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) began leaving by car from the rebel-held city of Donetsk in east Ukraine on Sunday, a Reuters witness said.

The OSCE conducts operations in Ukraine including a civilian monitoring mission in Russian-backed, self-proclaimed separatist republics in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where a war that erupted in 2014 has killed more than 14,000 people.

Amid the tension, Dutch carrier KLM said it would stop flying to Ukraine and Germany's Lufthansa said it was considering suspending flights.

An adviser in Ukraine's presidency, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that regardless of what airlines chose to do Kyiv had no plans to close its airspace as such a move would resemble "a kind of partial blockade".

A French presidency official said on Saturday, after President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Putin, that there were no indications from what the Russian leader said that Russia was preparing an offensive.

But the official said Paris remained "extremely vigilant".

British defence minister Ben Wallace cautioned against putting too much hope in talks, saying there was "a whiff of Munich in the air from some in the West", referring to a 1938 pact that failed to halt German expansionism under Adolf Hitler.

"The worrying thing is that, despite the massive amount of increased diplomacy, that military build-up has continued," Wallace told The Sunday Times of London.

U.S. says Russia may create pretext to attack Ukraine | Reuters

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