Putin sees “deterioration”
Eastern Ukraine: Separatists evacuate civilians
02/18/2022, 4:08 p.m
In the Ukraine conflict, the spiral of escalation reaches the next level: the bombardments in eastern Ukraine continue, separatists in Donetsk begin to evacuate the civilian population to Russia. Kremlin boss Putin already sees a “deterioration of the situation”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has diagnosed a worsening of the situation in eastern Ukraine. “At the moment we see the situation deteriorating,” Putin said at a press conference with the allied Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow. Putin received the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko for talks “about the situation in the region and the status of military cooperation, including ongoing military exercises,” as the Kremlin chief said.
Meanwhile, the pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk say they have begun bringing civilians from the embattled region to Russia. The leader of the self-proclaimed “People’s Republic” of Donetsk, Denis Puschilin, said in a video message on Telgram that the “mass emigration” of the civilian population to the Russian Federation is currently being organized. “Women, children and the elderly are the first to be brought to safety.” Videos circulated on Twitter showing sirens blaring, urging people to leave for Russia.
USA: Work on a pretext for war
Violence has been increasing in eastern Ukraine for days. According to reporters from the AFP news agency, shelling continues near the village of Stanyzia-Luhanska. On Thursday, a kindergarten was hit in the place controlled by the Ukrainian army. The Ukrainian army and the pro-Russian separatists blamed each other for the incident. Pro-Russian rebels have been fighting the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine since 2014. According to the West, Moscow supports the separatists.
Western countries and NATO warned of a Russian provocation in the area on Thursday. In this way, Russia could be trying to create a pretext to justify a military conflict, said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Pro-Russian rebels have been fighting the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine since 2014. According to the West, Moscow supports the separatists.
Major maneuvers with missiles announced
Russia and Belarus are currently holding joint military exercises near the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, for which Moscow has transferred around 30,000 soldiers to the ex-Soviet republic, according to US information, and which will continue until Sunday. The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously announced the start of another major maneuver with strategic troops and ballistic missiles for Saturday. Putin and Lukashenko want to personally oversee the maneuver, which the Kremlin chief described as “one of the most important events in the complex of military cooperation.”
Lukashenko accused western states of having “brought the military-political spectrum to the fore”. Russia and Belarus would have to “react” to this, including with military exercises and diplomacy. He also accused western states of “scaring the world by saying ‘tomorrow’ we will attack, encircle and destroy Ukraine”.
Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine in recent months. The US has repeatedly warned that Russia could invade the neighboring country in the coming days. Russia rejects this and for its part states that it feels threatened by NATO. The US has labeled Russian announcements of partial withdrawals as “false” and instead accuses Moscow of further increasing forces at the border.