Ukraine finds itself once again at the heart of international diplomatic tensions. This Friday evening, US President Joe Biden said he was preparing a “set of initiatives” aimed at protecting Ukraine from a Russian attack, at a time when Kiev and Washington accuse Moscow of preparing an invasion.
Claiming to be in “constant contact” with the allies of the United States and the Ukrainians, he declared from the White House: “I am preparing what will be, I believe, the most complete set of initiatives. and most relevant to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to do what people fear he is doing. “
The American president and his Russian counterpart are soon to discuss directly, by videoconference, the tensions around Ukraine, seven years after the Russian annexation of Crimea and the takeover of part of eastern Ukraine. former Soviet republic by pro-Russian separatist forces.
Tension has been mounting for several weeks around a possible new attack on Ukraine by Russia, accused of having massed tens of thousands of soldiers at the border. Russia continues to deploy troops around Ukraine and will be ready for a possible military “escalation” at the end of January, Ukraine’s defense minister said on Friday. According to him, around 100,000 Russian troops could participate in a possible offensive.
Ukraine wants to join NATO for support in case of attack
To appease the tensions, Moscow, which denies any offensive, calls for “security guarantees” and in particular the assurance that NATO will not continue to expand eastward, with the accession of Ukraine in particular.
Kiev for its part categorically refuses to abandon such a membership project, formally on the table since 2008, but remained in limbo. Joining NATO would mean that the other alliance countries, led by the United States, would be required to intervene militarily to defend Ukraine in the event of aggression. “I reject the idea that we should guarantee Russia anything. I insist: it is Russia which must guarantee that it will not continue its aggression against any country ”, assured the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kouleba.
Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized, this Friday, during a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the use by the Ukrainian army of military drones provided by Ankara. According to Putin, the use by the forces of Kiev of armed drones of Turkish manufacture of the Bayraktar type, which were used in particular to carry out a shooting in October against the pro-Russian separatists, is a “provocation”.
Vladimir Poutine also underlined, during this telephone conversation, the “need for Kiev to abandon any attempt of bellicose activities” in the east of Ukraine, according to a statement from the Kremlin. For its part, Ukraine has warned that it stands ready for battle. “If Moscow decides to invade, Ukraine will retaliate without hesitation. We are determined to defend our territory, explains Dmytro Kouleba, the head of diplomacy. Our country has become much more resilient and our military is incomparably stronger than it was in 2014. ”
Eastern Ukraine has since that year, seven years ago, been in the throes of a war with pro-Russian separatists of whom Moscow is widely regarded as the military and financial godfather, despite its denials. The conflict, which claimed more than 13,000 lives, erupted shortly after Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.
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