Lhe United States fears an “imminent” Russian invasion of Ukraine. Joe Biden even warned Vladimir Putin of “severe and rapid repercussions” in the event of an attack. The Russian president did not take very well to having his suspenders pulled up in public and denounced American “hysteria”. On Saturday, when Russia had just started military maneuvers in the Black Sea and in Belarus, and 100,000 Russian soldiers had still crossed the Ukrainian border, telephone calls for diplomatic purposes between Western leaders and Moscow continued, without manage to reduce the tension.
“The hysteria has reached its peak,” commented Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ushakov, while specifying that Putin and Biden had agreed “to continue contacts at all levels”.
READ ALSOUkraine: why Biden voluntarily cries wolf
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken meanwhile warned on Saturday, after his meeting with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, against a possible Russian “provocation”, a pretext for war. “Nobody should be surprised if Russia triggers a provocation or an incident that it then uses to justify a military action that it had planned all along,” he said.
“Weapons Delivery”
Since the first troop deployments near Ukraine in November, Moscow has denied any intention of invasion, but has called for an end to NATO expansion and Western support for this former Soviet republic, which she considers to be part of her sphere of influence.
READ ALSOWhen Putin blows hot and cold…
During his discussion with French President Emmanuel Macron, Vladimir Putin criticized the “large-scale deliveries of modern armaments” to his neighbor, believing that they created “preconditions for possible aggressive actions by Ukrainian forces” in the eastern Ukraine, where Russia has supported armed separatists for eight years.
Do not panic
The list of countries calling on their nationals to leave Ukraine continues to grow, including the United States, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, Norway or again Australia, Japan and Israel. The KLM airline announced on Saturday the suspension of flights to Ukraine until further notice. Moscow also recalled some of its diplomatic staff, claiming to fear adverse “provocations”.
The United States also ordered the departure of most of the personnel of the American embassy in Kyiv, noting that a Russian offensive could “begin at any time and without warning”. Canada meanwhile announced Saturday to temporarily close its embassy in Kiev and move its operations to a temporary office in Lviv, western Ukraine.
READ ALSO“A war with Ukraine would be stupid”: visit to Patriot Park in Moscow
And Australia announced on Sunday that it was evacuating its last diplomats still stationed in Kiev, also moving its activities to Lviv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his part once again deemed the American statements too alarmist. “All this information (about a possible attack) only causes panic and does not help us,” he said.
In Kiev, thousands of demonstrators marched on Saturday, saying they refused to give in to panic precisely, even if they took the threat seriously. “Panic is useless. We must unite and fight for our independence,” said student Maria Chtcherbenko, holding a sign “I remain calm. I love Ukraine”.
Submarine
Adding to the tensions, Russia launched new naval maneuvers in the Black Sea on Saturday to practice “defending” the Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014. The Ministry of Defense also claimed that the Russian navy had hunted a sub-marine. American sailor from its waters in the Pacific Ocean on Saturday. False, replied Washington: “There is no truth in the Russian assertions concerning our operations in their territorial waters”, denied the American army. Westerners rule out committing their armies in the event of war, but have planned devastating economic reprisals.
READ ALSOIn Ukraine, Erdogan plays the balancing act between Kiev and Moscow
This crisis is, according to Westerners, the most dangerous in Europe since the end of the Cold War. The White House has already outlined the scenario for the Russian offensive, citing probable “aerial bombardment and missile fire” and a possible assault on the capital Kiev. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to take up the torch, going to Kiev on Monday and Moscow on Tuesday.
In this context, the visit of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, expected in Russia on Tuesday, is causing great perplexity. Jair Bolsonaro said he was going to Moscow to “improve trade relations”, while being “aware of the problems some countries have with Russia”. The leading power in Latin America does not wish to be embroiled in this conflict and advocates “dialogue”.