Western leaders including US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron pledge sanctions “quick and drastic” if Russia invades Ukraine, said the German Chancellor’s spokesman on Friday, February 11, after a teleconference between the allies.
Several tens of thousands of Russian soldiers began large-scale exercises on Thursday in Belarus, a country neighboring Ukraine, which should in theory last until February 20. According to the West, Russia is planning an imminent invasion of Ukraine. Moscow rejects these accusations, and says it simply wants to ensure its security in the face of hostility from Kiev and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
An invasion of Ukraine by Russia may “occur at any time”including before the end of the Beijing Olympics on February 20, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday evening. “We continue to see signs of Russian escalation, including the arrival of new forces on the Ukrainian border”he told the press, adding: “We are not saying that a decision has been made, that a final decision has been made by the president [russe, Vladimir] Putin. »
French President Emmanuel Macron will speak to his Russian counterpart on Saturday noon, the Elysée Palace announced on Friday evening, stressing that Westerners wanted to resolve this crisis by “diplomatic means, dialogue and deterrence”.
Failure of several rounds of talks
Earlier on Friday, the head of Norwegian military intelligence said everything was operationally ready for a broad spectrum of Russian military operations in Ukraine. Russians “have everything they need to carry out everything from a minor invasion in the east, minor attacks all over Ukraine, to a full invasion with possibly an occupation of all of Ukraine or of certain parts” of the country, said Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensones. “Now it is in the first place for President Putin to choose to do it or not to do it”he added.
Eastern Ukraine has since 2014 been plagued by a war between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists of which the Kremlin is widely seen as the military and financial sponsor.
Several rounds of talks in recent days have failed to make progress in diplomatically resolving this crisis, which Westerners describe as the most dangerous since the end of the Cold War.
On Friday, the United Kingdom advised its nationals to leave “ at once ” Ukraine” by commercial means as long as they remain available”. Canada and then Norway made similar recommendations. The Israeli government has decided “to evacuate the families of diplomats and staff from its embassy in Ukraine”. On Thursday, the President of the United States urged his fellow citizens to leave the country without delay, because “Things could very quickly get carried away”.