1:47 p.m .: A meeting scheduled for Saturday between the G7 foreign ministers
The foreign ministers of the G7 countries will hold a meeting on Saturday devoted to the crisis between Ukraine and Russia. The head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, will chair this meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, which is being held this weekend.
“It will mainly be a question of the continuation of the consultation on the crisis caused by the deployment of Russian troops near Ukraine”, according to a spokesperson for the German government.
11:26 a.m .: Russia continues to mass its troops nearby according to NATO
“We have not seen any de-escalation on the ground at this stage. On the contrary, it appears that Russia is continuing to strengthen its military presence (…) Russia can still invade Ukraine without warning, the capacities are in place “with more than 100,000 soldiers, the Secretary General said on Wednesday. of NATO Jens Stoltenberg at the start of a meeting with Alliance defense ministers in Brussels.
10:39 am: The Kremlin denies any involvement in cyberattacks in Ukraine
The Kremlin on Wednesday denied any involvement in the cyberattacks that targeted several official Ukrainian military websites and two public banks the day before, in the midst of the Russian-Western crisis around Ukraine. “Russia has nothing to do with any cyberattacks,” assured Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, while considering that “it was foreseeable that Ukraine would continue to accuse Russia of everything”.
9:51 am: President Bolsonaro in Moscow this Wednesday
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is due to meet this Wednesday in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, a controversial visit in the midst of the Ukrainian crisis. The invitation was issued at the end of November 2021, when tensions were already setting in. For some analysts, the far-right president’s trip – who is also due to visit his ally Viktor Orban’s Hungary on Thursday – could hardly have come at a worse time and responds to domestic political concerns.
9:50 am: London wants to judge Russia on its “actions” not on its “words”
The United Kingdom will judge Russia on its “actions” not on its “words”, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace warned on Wednesday, judging an invasion of Ukraine still possible despite the announced withdrawal of Russian troops from the border. Ben Wallace, who is taking part in a meeting with his NATO counterparts in Brussels on Wednesday, said on SkyNews that he had not seen “evidence” of this start of withdrawal mentioned by Moscow.
“In fact, we have seen a continuous build-up of things like field hospitals and strategic weapons systems,” he said, calling not “to take Russia at its word, but to judge it on its deeds”.
8:30 am: “Nobody knows what can happen, not even Putin I think”
“Nobody knows what can happen, not even Putin I think. He plays with hot and cold. We must remain vigilant because there is certainly an exercise in intimidation, ”declared on France inter the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrel.
“I think President Macron’s visit to Moscow marked the end of the escalation. Is this the start of de-escalation? Yes, maybe, we have to see. »
We must remain vigilant because there is certainly an exercise in intimidation
8:26 am: A “Day of Unity” celebrated in Ukraine
Ukraine celebrates this Wednesday a “Day of Unity” at the call of its President Volodymyr Zelensky, the immediate risks of war seeming to move away. The Ukrainian head of state chose the date for this great display of patriotism in reaction to reports from American intelligence services suggesting that the Russian invasion of the country. Across their country on Wednesday, Ukrainians were invited to hang their national flag or display its blue and yellow colors by President Volodymyr Zelensky, always straight in his boots and refusing “panic” in the face of threats of invasion.
Threat of Russian invasion: near Chernobyl, the hypothesis of a new tragedy
The population of Ivankiv, in Ukraine, located a few tens of kilometers from Chernobyl, has already gone through the worst nuclear disaster in history. Near the Belarusian border, its inhabitants claimed a few days ago to be aware of the military threat, while hardly imagining a real Russian offensive.
8:20 a.m .: Russia announces the end of maneuvers and the departure of forces from Crimea
Moscow has just announced on Wednesday the end of military maneuvers and the departure of some of its forces from the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, where the deployment of troops fueled fears of an invasion of Ukraine.
“The units of the southern military district having completed their tactical exercises on the bases of the Crimean peninsula are returning by rail to their home base,” said the Russian Ministry of Defense, quoted by Russian agencies.
Russian television showed nighttime images of an endless train carrying armor crossing the bridge over the Kertsch Strait, built at great expense by Russia to connect Crimea to Russian territory.
The point on the information of the last hours
- Moscow has announced that some of the troops amassed on the Ukrainian border are returning to their barracks.
- Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, assures that his country “does not want war” and has asked for a “negotiation process” on security in Europe.
- This is the first sign of de-escalation in this crisis. Westerners hailed it, Paris evoking a “positive signal”.
- Traveling to Moscow, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for Russians and Westerners to find a compromise “without abandoning their principles”.
- For his part, Joe Biden, was cautious, assuring that Washington had not “verified” this withdrawal and adding that an invasion of Ukraine remained “possible”.