Leactions concerning the Ukrainian crisis are multiplying throughout the world. On Thursday January 27, the head of German diplomacy indicated that Russia exposed itself to “massive consequences” in the event of aggression against Ukraine with a set of sanctions in preparation by the West which include the German-Russian gas pipeline controversial Nord Stream 2.
“We are working on a package of strong sanctions” with the Western allies in this case, which covers several aspects, “including Nord Stream 2”, declared Annalena Baerbock before the Chamber of Deputies. The Minister of Foreign Affairs thus clarified the German position on this point, after much procrastination on this central question in recent weeks.
The German coalition government, which brings together Social Democrats, rather favorable to a conciliatory approach with Moscow, and environmentalists and Liberals, supporters of a harder line, has continued to blow hot and cold over the gas pipeline. . Chancellor Olaf Scholz thus sometimes spoke of a “private project” not to be involved in political questions, sometimes he mentioned an agreement in principle concluded last year between Berlin and Washington and planning to stop the project in the event of Russian military aggression against Ukraine.
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This gas pipeline, which is to bring Russian gas to Germany and Europe via the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine, has been completed. But its commissioning is currently blocked by the German energy regulator, for legal reasons. On the current tensions around Ukraine, Mrme Baerbock nevertheless insisted on the immediate need to focus on the ongoing negotiations to try to obtain a de-escalation from Moscow, suspected of preparing an invasion. “As long as we talk, we don’t shoot,” she said from the rostrum of the Chamber of Deputies.China in support of Russia
Earlier in the day, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, for his part, defended Russia’s “reasonable concerns” for its security, during a telephone exchange with his American counterpart Antony Blinken about Ukraine. “We call on all parties for calm, to refrain from increasing tensions and escalating the crisis,” Wang Yi said, according to a statement released by his ministry.
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Washington and its European allies accuse Moscow of preparing an invasion of Ukraine, after massing 100,000 soldiers near its neighbor’s borders. Russia denies any plan of invasion, but demands that NATO undertake to refuse membership of Ukraine, a request rejected by the West. Without naming NATO, Wang Yi argued that “regional security cannot be guaranteed by the strengthening or expansion of military blocs”.
Global security and economic risks
He said “Russia’s reasonable security concerns must be taken seriously and addressed.” For his part, “Secretary Blinken underscored the global security and economic risks that further Russian aggression against Ukraine would pose and indicated that de-escalation and diplomacy were the responsible path,” the spokesperson said. State Department spokesman, Ned Price, following this telephone call between the two heads of diplomacy.
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A Ukrainian soldier kills five of his comrades
The situation is more tense than ever in Ukraine. A Ukrainian national guard soldier opened fire on his comrades in a factory, killing five and wounding five, before fleeing with his weapon, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday. “A member of the Ukrainian national guard fired shots with a Kalashnikov assault rifle at the factory guards, then fled with his weapon. As a result, five people were killed and five others injured,” he said in a statement.
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According to the ministry, the incident took place overnight from Wednesday to Thursday at the Yuzhmach factory in Dnipro, in the center of the country, which manufactures rockets and space launchers, but also missiles, vehicles and industrial tools. The shooter, born in 2001, had just received his weapon before his shift. A special operation was launched in the city to find him and the commander of the national guard, Nikolai Balan, went to the scene, according to the same source.
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“The motives for the crime are not yet known,” the ministry said. Shootings in military units in the former USSR are a recurring phenomenon, often due to hazing, which has long been one of the most serious problems in these countries, especially in Russia, although the situation has improved in recent years. years. These hazings, sometimes very violent, are regularly the cause of suicides or murders.