Approaching the war in Europe? Russia has begun expelling its diplomats and their families from its embassy in Kiev and the consulate in Lvov, the Russian news agency RT reported Tuesday (Tuesday), quoting anonymous sources who spoke to the New York Times. At the same time, Western countries are sending Russia threatening messages and arming the Ukrainian army ahead of the possibility of a Russian invasion.
Russia in a “military exercise” near the border with Ukraine (Photo: Reuters)
Following the disturbing reports, Western countries have begun feverish activity in an attempt, perhaps at the last minute, to prevent the impending escalation. US Secretary of State Data Linken will arrive in Ukraine tomorrow and meet with Ukrainian President Zlansky, while the US has repeatedly warned Russia not to invade Ukraine and urged the two countries to return to a system of agreements designed to end military tensions in the region.
In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would welcome US participation in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and reiterated accusations that Ukraine was “sabotaging” the implementation of agreements aimed at ending the conflict in the region.
At the same time, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain was doing everything in its power to support Ukraine against Russia’s attempts to undermine it and that Putin should not be allowed to rewrite the rules and Ukraine should be allowed to aspire to NATO membership.
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Johnson added that he hoped the Russians would agree to participate in further talks, and that they were awaiting an official response from the Russian defense minister who had been invited to come to London. At the same time the British Defense Secretary announced that he would visit Germany “soon to meet his new counterpart.
Russian Railways pic.twitter.com/onfsPpLoJt
– IgorGirkin (@GirkinGirkin) January 18, 2022
As mentioned, Russia has reportedly begun evacuating its diplomatic missions in Ukraine, raising fears of an impending escalation. A report by the Russian News Agency claimed that 18 people, mostly children and wives of Russian diplomats, had left Ukraine on January 5. Another 30 people allegedly left in the next two weeks, while diplomats from two other Russian consulates in Kharkov and Odessa were notified to prepare to leave the country, according to reports.
According to the New York Times, U.S. and Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russian diplomats had left the country. In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that “the Russian embassy in Kiev is working normally,” but did not deny a reduction in the number of workers and their families.
Mordovia pic.twitter.com/Qi6xIFDgt9
– IgorGirkin (@GirkinGirkin) January 18, 2022
The report comes in the shadow of threats from European powers to Russia if it advances a military move against Ukraine. This, after the talks held last week between Russia and the powers on the deployment of tens of thousands of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border, ostensibly with the aim of invading the country in the coming weeks and months, ended without a breakthrough.
At the same time, it was reported that many Russian military forces and weapons, including tanks, had arrived in Belarus in favor of a “joint exercise” to be held near the Belarus border triangle with Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania, increasing tensions and fears on the western side of an impending invasion.
Germany has warned that “Moscow will suffer and pay a heavy price if it does attack Ukraine,” but Germany’s foreign minister added a conciliatory message, saying it hoped tensions would be resolved by diplomacy. “Any further aggressive action will have a high price for Russia, economically, strategically, politically,” the minister said. “Diplomacy is the only way.”
Morning report on the situation in the area of the Joint Forces operation as of 7.00 on January 18, 2022
Thanks to the efforts of our soldiers, the borders of Ukrainian units have remained unchanged. pic.twitter.com/PmUEqcbsjB
– IgorGirkin (@GirkinGirkin) January 18, 2022
At the same time, Western countries, including Britain, began to arm the Ukrainian army and provide it with anti-tank weapons to help it defend itself against possible invasion. “We have made the decision to provide Ukraine with small arms defense systems,” said the British defense minister, noting that the first systems had already been delivered on Monday and a small number of British personnel would provide training to the Ukrainian army for a short period of time.
He did not specify the number or type of weapons sent, but said: “These are not strategic weapons and they do not pose a threat to Russia. They are supposed to be used for self-defense. It will make people stop and think about what they are doing. “
Ukraine welcomed the aid and the Ukrainian defense minister wrote: “Ukraine very much appreciates Britain’s decision to provide a new security package with small arms defense systems against armor.” Britain has previously warned Russia of serious consequences if it is a new military attack on Ukraine, while promising to help fund the improvement of Ukraine’s naval capabilities.
The U.S. also warned last week that it feared Russia was preparing a ground for invading Ukraine, and a CNN “activist group” trained in civil warfare and explosives use was sent to “carry out sabotage operations against Russia’s own representative forces” to create grounds for military intervention in Ukraine.
Earlier, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned that US intelligence had reason to believe that Moscow was planning a scenario in which it could justify a military invasion of Ukraine: “By accusing Ukraine of preparing an imminent attack against Russian forces in eastern Ukraine,” Sullivan said.
The Kremlin, for its part, has repeatedly denied any plan to attack Ukraine, claiming that NATO is using the ghost of “Russian aggression” as a pretext for deploying additional military equipment in the border region.
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