Scholz to Kiev and Moscow to get Russians to de-escalate

The German government assesses the situation at the Russian-Ukrainian border as “extremely dangerous” and “very worrying”. The German news agency DPA heard this in German government circles.

Chancellor Scholz will travel to Kiev tomorrow to speak with Ukrainian President Zelensky. Scholz will meet with Russian President Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. He hopes to continue talks with the Russians about de-escalating the situation.

“I don’t expect concrete results, but direct contact is important,” a German government source told Reuters news agency. He also said Scholz will make it clear to Putin that the Russian military build-up on the border with Ukraine can only be perceived as a threat. Russia says those soldiers are there for exercises.

Scholz himself reiterated today that Russia can count on harsh sanctions if it invades Ukraine. “We can put them into action immediately, together with our allies in Europe and at NATO.”

Next week

US President Biden met with Zelensky again today. We talked about security, the economy, the risks, sanctions and Russian aggression, Zelensky said. He did not give details. Biden said on Friday that the Russians may launch an attack on Ukraine before the end of next week. His security adviser Jake Sullivan reiterated that today.

The US withdraws its diplomats and military advisers from Ukraine. The American employees of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) are also leaving the country. They oversaw the ceasefire line in eastern Ukraine for the OSCE, where the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists face each other.

Russia denounces statements that a Russian invasion is imminent as “provocative speculation” and “hysteria”.

Ukraine advises airlines not to fly over certain parts of the Black Sea for the next week. The Russian navy conducts exercises there. The airspace over Ukraine would be safe.

No breakthrough

Yesterday spoke Putin with Biden and earlier this week including French President Macron. There was no breakthrough. Russia insists that Ukraine should never join NATO. Russia also wants the west to put more pressure on Ukraine, which, according to Putin, is insufficiently complying with the agreements of the Minsk agreement.

In that agreement, a truce was settled in 2015 between the Ukrainian government in Kiev and the pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of failing to comply with agreements in that agreement.

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