NATO warns of Russia's preparations for a "full-scale attack" on Ukraine | News from Germany about Russia

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday, February 22, that Russian forces continue to prepare for a possible invasion of Ukraine after Moscow recognizes the independence of two separatist regions. “Everything indicates that Russia continues to plan a full-scale attack on Ukraine,” he said at a briefing after an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine commission in Brussels.

According to Stoltenberg, last night, additional Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border into territories in the Donbass supported by the Kremlin. “We are seeing further invasion of a country that has already been invaded,” he said. The head of NATO noted that the West continues to call on Russia to back down to de-escalate the situation. “It’s never too late to attack,” Stoltenberg said.

Russia recognized the independence of the “DNR” and “LNR”

The day before, on February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the introduction of Russian troops into the territory in the Donbass, controlled by pro-Russian separatists, after Moscow recognized the independence of the self-proclaimed “people’s republics”. On Tuesday, the Federation Council of the Russian Federation gave its consent to the President on the use of Russian armed forces abroad.

Russia’s recognition of the independence of the “DNR” and “LNR” caused condemnation from the West. European countries and the United States announced new sanctions against Moscow. Amid rising tensions with Russia, NATO allies, led by the United States, have already sent thousands of additional troops to reinforce the alliance’s eastern flank. According to Stoltenberg, more than 100 aircraft and more than 120 warships of NATO countries are on high alert.

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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 obviously hoped to maintain its 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 of 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 the settlement of 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