Against the backdrop of aggravation around Ukraine, the US State Department warned against trips to Belarus, Moldova and Transnistria | News from Germany about events in the world

Amid the threat of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US State Department warned American citizens against travel to Belarus, the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria. The corresponding notices were posted on Monday, February 14, on the website of the US Foreign Office.

The recommendation not to enter Belarus is related to Russia’s “unusual and worrying” military buildup on Belarus’s border with Ukraine, Minsk’s arbitrary application of laws, the risk of detention, and the coronavirus pandemic, the alert says. US citizens who are in Belarus or are considering a trip there “should be aware that the situation is unpredictable and there is heightened tension in the region,” the US Foreign Office explained.

“Americans in Belarus should immediately leave the country by commercial or private transport,” the State Department added.

The State Department warned of possible difficulties at the checkpoint in Transnistria

With regard to Pridnestrovie, the department noted that those who entered it may encounter difficulties at checkpoints. Photographing military installations and members of the security forces is prohibited and could lead to trouble with the authorities, the US State Department warned. Transnistria is also recommended to leave immediately.

The State Department urged to cancel trips to Moldova both in connection with the situation with the spread of the coronavirus, and with the unusual and worrying military activity of Russia around Ukraine, as well as with the unresolved conflict between the self-proclaimed Transnistria and the government in Chisinau.

West fears Russian invasion of Ukraine

In recent months, relations between Russia and Western countries have deteriorated sharply. The West is talking about the concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the second half of 2021 and early 2022, the Russian Federation deployed more than 100 thousand military personnel to the annexed Crimea and to the border with Ukraine. The Kremlin denies plans for military aggression.

The January series of talks between Russia and the United States, NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe did not bring the desired results. The West is calling on Moscow to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border and is threatening unprecedented sanctions. Russia, on the other hand, accuses Western countries of arming Ukraine and conducting maneuvers near the borders of the Russian Federation.

See also:

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the creation of the CIS

In December 1991, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus documented the collapse of the USSR. Moscow apparently hoped to maintain influence through the CIS and cheap gas supplies. But it turned out differently. The Russian Federation and Belarus created a union state, Ukraine increasingly looked to the West. In the photo: Leonid Kravchuk, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Boris Yeltsin and Stanislav Shushkevich during the official founding of the CIS in Almaty.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

Legacy of the USSR and the Budapest Memorandum

Ukraine inherited from the USSR almost a million strong army and the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Kiev refused the missiles, handing them over to Russia in exchange for economic assistance and security guarantees (Budapest Memorandum of 1994). While the West did not reciprocate Kiev and was not going to integrate it into its structures, the reaction of the Russian Federation was restrained. In the photo: Russian and US leaders Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

Cracks in Post-Soviet Friendship: Tuzla Conflict

The first major diplomatic crisis between Moscow and Kiev occurred under President Putin. In the fall of 2003, Russia suddenly began building a dam in the Kerch Strait towards the Ukrainian island of Tuzla. Kiev considered this an attempt to redistribute borders. The conflict was resolved after a personal meeting of the presidents. Construction was stopped, but the first cracks appeared on the facade of friendly relations between the two countries.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

Orange Revolution 2004

In the presidential elections in Ukraine in 2004, the Russian Federation actively supported the pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych, but the Orange Revolution prevented him from winning amid accusations of fraud. Pro-Western politician Viktor Yushchenko became president. His victory became the starting point for changes in the policy of the Russian Federation, designed to prevent what Moscow calls “color revolutions.”

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

Shutting off Ukraine’s “gas valve” in the 2000s

During Viktor Yushchenko’s presidency, the Russian Federation twice shut off Ukraine’s “gas valve” – in 2006 and 2009, which led to interruptions in transit supplies to Europe. In the photo: a Gazprom employee at the Sudzha gas measuring station, 200 meters from the Ukrainian border, Kursk Region, Russia, 2009.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

The promise of NATO membership

The key event happened in 2008. At the NATO summit in Bucharest, US President George W. Bush tried to get Ukraine and Georgia to receive a Membership Action Plan (MAP). Putin sharply objected, making it clear that he did not fully recognize the independence of Ukraine. As a result, Germany and France blocked Bush’s plan. Ukraine and Georgia were promised NATO membership, but no date.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

Ukraine’s course towards the European Union

It was not possible to move quickly towards joining NATO, and Ukraine set a course for economic rapprochement with the EU. In the summer of 2013, the Russian Federation began to exert massive pressure on Kiev, almost cutting off Ukrainian exports at the border. The Yanukovych government has suspended preparations for signing an association agreement with Brussels. Soon protests began in Ukraine, in February 2014 Yanukovych fled to Russia.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

Russian annexation of Crimea

A power vacuum emerged in Ukraine, in March 2014 Russia annexed Crimea. This was a turning point, the beginning of an undeclared war. Pictured: Russian military in Crimea (Simferopol, March 2014).

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

War in Donbass

At the same time, Russian and local paramilitary structures provoked an outbreak of separatism in the Donbass, “people’s republics” were proclaimed in Donetsk and Lugansk, which were led by people who had come from the Russian Federation in unmarked uniforms. Kiev reacted slowly, waiting for the presidential elections at the end of May 2014, and only then decided on a large-scale use of force.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

Birth of the Normandy Format

In early June 2014, in France, at events marking the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, newly elected President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko met for the first time with his Russian counterpart Putin through the mediation of the leaders of Germany and France. This is how the “Norman format” was born.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

“Ilovaisky cauldron”

In the summer of 2014, the Ukrainian army began to push back the separatists, but at the end of August, Russia, according to Kiev, used its army on a large scale in the Donbass. Moscow denies this. The peak of the conflict was the defeat of the Ukrainian forces near Ilovaisk. The war along the entire front line ended with the signing of a ceasefire in Minsk in September, which was quickly broken.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

Positional war continues

In early 2015, the separatists went on a broad offensive. Kiev accused Moscow of using an unmarked army, the Russian Federation denied everything. Ukrainian forces were defeated near the city of Debaltseve. Then, with the mediation of Germany and France, “Minsk-2” was signed, an agreement that still remains the main document for resolving the conflict. None of its points has been fully implemented.

A Brief History of the Ukrainian-Russian Confrontation

The concentration of Russian troops on the border of Ukraine

In 2021, there was a new aggravation. Russia twice, in spring and autumn, drew up its troops to the western borders. Ukrainian and Western intelligence reports about the threat of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. To defuse the situation, a series of international negotiations took place in the West. However, the Russian Federation demands guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO and lets know that it is not going to withdraw troops yet.

Author: Roman Goncharenko