This photo taken and released by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on February 16, 2022 shows President Volodymyr Zelensky during a military drill outside the city of Rivne in northern Ukraine. afp_tickers
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–This content was published on February 16, 2022 – 06:31
(AFP)
Despite the Russian promise of de-escalation, Washington accused the Kremlin on Wednesday of sending at least 7,000 more soldiers to the border with Ukraine, at a time when Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky promised that his country would resist any eventual invasion.
“In recent days, Russia has increased its presence along the Ukrainian border with up to 7,000 troops, some of whom arrived today,” a senior White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Moscow, he explained, can “at any time” launch an operation that would serve as a “false pretext” to invade Ukraine, such as a false “incursion” into Russian territory.
“We hope the world is ready,” he warned.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president attended military exercises near Rivne, in the west, where a row of vehicles were destroyed by missiles and several armored vehicles fired shots in the middle of a yellowish wasteland.
Later, he traveled to the city of Mariupol, the last city in the east under government control. It is considered one of the territories under threat in the event of an invasion, since it is about 20 kilometers from where the pro-Russian separatists who maintain an armed conflict operate.
“We are not afraid of any eventuality, we are not afraid of anyone, of any enemy,” said Zelensky, who was wearing a green military-style coat. “We will defend ourselves.”
“Protect your country,” he insisted.
In solidarity with Zelenski, the ambassador of the European Union in Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, and the ambassadors of Spain, Estonia, Poland and Germany also traveled to Mariupol.
But the Ukrainian president denied seeing any signs that Russian troops are withdrawing.
“We are seeing small rotations. I would not call those rotations a withdrawal of forces by Russia,” he told television. “We don’t see any change,” she added.
On the occasion of the “Unity Day” decreed this Wednesday, many streets of Kiev were filled with flags, and evacuation exercises were organized in some schools in the capital.
Patriotic demonstrations that coincided with the Kremlin’s call for “serious negotiations” with the United States, while European leaders continued to call for a negotiated solution to the crisis.
– ‘The new normal’ –
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who chaired a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, ruled out that the threat on the border had diminished after Russia said it had begun withdrawing its soldiers.
The official announced that NATO will reinforce its defenses in Eastern Europe with more deployments in its member countries bordering Ukraine.
This Wednesday, hundreds of paratroopers from the United States arrived at the Rzeszow airport in Poland, a NATO member country.
“We have not seen any de-escalation on the ground so far. On the contrary, it seems that Russia continues to reinforce its military presence,” Stoltenberg said.
The same message was released after a phone call by US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, indicating that “a significant withdrawal of Russian troops has not been observed” and asking Moscow for “real de-escalation measures.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was “little evidence” of a Russian withdrawal. After a phone call with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the two leaders agreed that a Russian invasion would have “catastrophic” consequences.
European Union leaders are scheduled to attend a meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
On her side, US Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Zelensky on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, a senior White House official said.
– Diplomatic gamble –
The deployment of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers on the border with Ukraine had been classified by the United States as a risk of an imminent invasion.
Westerners have warned that they would impose massive economic sanctions on Russia in the event of a crackdown, something the Kremlin denied wanting to do.
The Russian army announced that it had finished its exercises and that its soldiers were leaving the annexed peninsula of Crimea, in southern Ukraine, publishing a video showing a withdrawal of troops and military arsenal on a train.
Belarus also stated that all Russian soldiers deployed on its territory as part of the exercises will leave the country on February 20, as soon as the exercises are over.
Biden was wary of the announcement, but declared himself open to finding a diplomatic solution, an announcement applauded by Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
“That the president of the United States has also expressed his readiness for serious negotiations is something positive,” said Peskov, who also disassociated Russia from the cyberattack suffered the day before by Ukraine.
The Russian government regrets that Westerners have rejected its main demands, such as NATO ending its policy of expansion and banning Ukraine from joining the alliance, and withdrawing NATO’s military infrastructure from Eastern Europe.
Westerners proposed opening a dialogue on issues such as arms control.
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