A vtelephone summit among Western leaders is scheduled to take stock of the latest developments in the crisis in Ukraine. This is learned from German government sources. United States President Joe will take part in the telephone conference that will take place in the afternoon Bidenthe German Chancellor Olaf Scholzthe Italian Prime Minister Mario DraghiFrench President Emmanuel MacronBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Polish president Andrzej Doubt. At the talks the heads of the EU and NATO will also participate.
In the morning, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenbergreiterated that there is a real risk of an armed conflict in Europe given that the number of troops on the borders of Ukraine “goes up” and the reaction times of a possible attack “go down”.
But he also warned against the danger of “hybrid actions”, including “cyber actions”, or an attempt to “overthrow the government of Kiev”, underlining the high number of Russian intelligence agents present in Ukraine. For the US Secretary of State, Antony flashsaid that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can take place “at any time”, also during the Winter Olympics, which are underway in Beijing.
Joe Biden in an interview with Nbc he stated that “i American citizens must leave now“from Ukraine.” It’s not like dealing with a terrorist organization, we are dealing with one of the largest armies in the world, it’s a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly “, he warned. to the Russian threat, while the US embassy in Kiev issued a similar alert.
Ma Kiev minimizza. “There is nothing new in this statement, it is not evidence of some radical change in the situation.” This was stated by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba. It is not the first time in this crisis that the Ukrainian authorities downplay or contradict the claims of the American president.
The Russian Defense Minister Serghiei Shoigumeeting his British counterpart Ben Wallace in Moscow, declared that “the military and political situation in Europe is becoming increasingly tense” is that “it’s not Russia’s fault”: the Russian state news agency Tass reports. “I am delighted to welcome you to Moscow, to the Russian Defense Ministry. The military and political situation in Europe is becoming increasingly tense and it is absolutely not our fault,” Shoigu told Wallace according to Tass. “We do not quite and we do not always understand the causes of the increase in this tension. However, we see that it is growing,” said Shoigu. The Russian minister – again according to TASS – asked Western countries to “make a contribution to reducing these tensions” and “stop supplying massive arms to Ukraine”.
Meanwhile the Russia has invited non-essential personnel to its embassy in Ukraine to leave the country temporarily. This was stated by Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov, quoted by TASS.
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