US President Joe Biden made an appeal in connection with the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine. He stated that there was no evidence that Kiev was preparing to attack the unrecognized republics. According to the American president, Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine, including Kiev.
“We have reason to believe that Russian forces are planning and intending to attack Ukraine in the coming week, in the coming days. We believe they will target the Ukrainian capital Kiev,” Mr. Biden said.
“I am convinced that he (President Vladimir Putin.— “b”) He has made a decision. We have reason to believe that this is so,” Mr. Biden said. Answering a clarifying question, he confirmed that, in his opinion, Russia had decided to attack Ukraine. According to him, this is evidenced by intelligence data.
What else did Joe Biden say:
- “We will not send soldiers to Ukraine, but we will continue to support the Ukrainian people”;
- “There is no evidence … that Ukrainians will choose this moment, when more than 150,000 troops have gathered at the borders, to escalate the conflict that has been going on for years”;
- “We have seen reports of a significant increase in cases of ceasefire violations by Russian-backed forces that are trying to provoke Ukraine in the Donbass”;
- “We are ready to impose tough sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine. But, I repeat, Russia can still choose the path of diplomacy”;
- “I don’t think he (Vladimir Putin.— “b”) even remotely considers the use of nuclear weapons. I think he is focused on convincing the world of his ability to change the dynamics in Europe.”
The leaders of the self-proclaimed LNR and DNR on the eve accused Ukraine of preparing a “deep breakthrough” and announced an emergency evacuation of civilians to the Rostov region. The Russian authorities guaranteed them temporary shelter, hot meals and medical care, as well as payment of 10,000 rubles each. In Kiev, plans for any attacks are denied, calling on international partners to condemn “Russian provocations” in the Donbass.
For more information about the situation in the Donbass, see Kommersant’s “Breakthrough Test”.