The US wants to send more soldiers to Europe. Russia sharply criticizes this. The Turkish President wants to mediate in the Ukraine conflict – and sells drones to Kiev.
In the Ukraine conflict, Russia and the United States have made serious accusations against each other. Russia on Thursday accused the US of escalating tensions on the continent by sending troops to Eastern Europe. The United States, for its part, said it had information that Moscow was trying to “invent” a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, crisis diplomacy continues: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced a trip to Moscow, and Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdoğan again brought himself into play as a mediator in the conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the United States of further escalating the situation by announcing that it would send thousands of soldiers to Eastern Europe. Russia’s concerns about a possible eastward expansion of NATO and the stationing of US troops in the region are “completely justified,” said Peskov in Moscow.
The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that it would send 1,700 soldiers to Poland and 300 more to Germany. 1,000 US soldiers currently stationed in Bavaria will be sent to Romania. “The current situation makes it necessary for us to strengthen deterrence and defense on NATO’s eastern flank,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
Pentagon: Moscow plans propaganda video as pretext for invasion
On Thursday, Kirby then accused Moscow of preparing a “very drastic propaganda video” to be used as a pretext for a possible attack on Ukraine. In the video, an attack by the Ukrainian armed forces or secret services on “Russian sovereign territory or Russian-speaking people” is to be staged.
While the rhetoric between the US and Russia has been intensifying for days, Ukraine recently warned against panicking despite the massive Russian troop movements. Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov said on Thursday that he currently assesses the risk of a “significant escalation” as “low”. What is more to be feared is an “internal destabilization” fueled by Russia.
December 22, 2021, Donetsk, Ukraine: Ukraine Soldiers practice firing from a portable anti-tank missile system Javelin d (Quelle: Ukrainian Defense Ministry/imago images)
According to Western sources, Russia has gathered more than 100,000 soldiers and heavy equipment on the Ukrainian border. The West therefore fears a Russian attack on the neighboring country. Russia rejects the allegations and at the same time states that it feels threatened by NATO. On Wednesday, Putin lamented the military alliance’s “unwillingness” to “adequately” address Russia’s “security concerns.”
Macron is on the phone with Putin
In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Putin reiterated his demand for “long-term” security guarantees, according to the Kremlin. In addition, he again pointed out the “provocative statements and actions of the leadership in Kiev”. Macron also called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again. It was about “accelerating the peace process in the Normandy format,” the Ukrainian president tweeted.
Zelenskyj received his Turkish colleague Erdoğan in Kiev on Thursday, who proposed a Ukraine-Russia summit in Turkey to resolve the crisis. Erdoğan had already offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia in the past. So far, however, Moscow has reacted cautiously to the advance. Putin and Erdoğan have good relations. In the Ukraine conflict, however, Ankara angered Moscow with deliveries of combat drones to Kiev, among other things.
Chancellor Scholz announced that he would soon meet with Putin. He “will shortly continue to talk in Moscow about the questions that are necessary there,” he said on ZDF on Wednesday evening. On Monday, Scholz will first travel to US President Joe Biden in Washington. As the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (Friday edition) reported, Scholz then wants to coordinate action in the Ukraine crisis with Macron and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda at a summit meeting in Berlin on Tuesday.
The West has threatened Russia with tough sanctions if it invades Ukraine. During a visit to Finland on Thursday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated that “any further military aggression against Ukraine will mean financial and economic sanctions” for Russia. Russia is questioning the “European security architecture,” she said. “Obviously this is an attack on all of us, all 27 Member States.”
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