Category Archives: Ukraine

You’re going to feel this, Biden tells Americans, as Ukraine war looms

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Analysis: US president gives the kind of speech normally delivered on the eve of momentous action, while speaking over Putin’s head to the Russian people

Joe Biden’s speech sounded like a closing argument, one that had been honed for some time and one that suggested expectations are still high in the White House that Russia will take military action.

Biden briefly nodded to Moscow’s claims to be withdrawing before abruptly contradicting them, raising the US estimate of the number of troops surrounding Ukraine to 150,000 in a “threatening position”.

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Duma manoeuvre points to Kremlin impatience in Ukraine standoff

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Analysis: recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk’s independence would be seen as considerable escalation

Russian lawmakers have passed a direct appeal to Vladimir Putin to recognise the Russian-controlled separatist states of Donetsk and Luhansk, providing a way to up the ante in the regional crisis without launching an attack on Ukraine.

Putin has said he will not immediately recognise the so-called republics but he is likely to wield that option as a bargaining chip as he continues to demand security guarantees from the west.

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Scholz calls for ‘courageous and responsible action’ in meeting with Putin over Ukraine – video

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German chancellor Olaf Scholz said preventing war in Europe is the 'damn responsibility' of heads of state and government as he met with Russian president Vladimir Putin. 

Putin in turn raised questions about Ukrainian membership of Nato but was engaged in ongoing diplomatic efforts around military buildup on the Ukrainian border

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What exactly does Putin want in Ukraine? – video explainer

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Tensions in Europe have risen in recent weeks amid fears Russia is planning to invade Ukraine.

So why has Russia amassed thousands of troops and weapons at its border with Ukraine? The Guardian's Moscow correspondent, Andrew Roth, looks at what Russian president, Vladimir Putin, may be hoping to achieve – and why now

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‘Mixed signals’: Boris Johnson on Russian diplomatic efforts over Ukraine – video

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The prime minister told reporters that while Russia had announced it had withdrawn some troops from the Ukrainian border, intelligence showed that it was still making preparations to invade. Johnson said that while these 'mixed signals' meant UK sanctions on Russia needed to be ready to go, the government had decided to keep its embassy open in Kyiv as 'an important symbol'

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Russia says it is sending some troops back to base after drills – video

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Russia's defence ministry says some of its troops are returning to base after carrying out drills near the Ukraine border. Nato's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, says the alliance has yet to see 'real de-escalation' from Russia, but will continue to monitor the situation

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Ukraine crisis: Biden warns that Russia invasion ‘still very much a possibility’ – live

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Update from president comes after Putin says western assurances Ukraine will not join Nato anytime soon are not good enough

Australia’s prime minister has urged China to denounce Russian threats against Ukraine.

Scott Morrison noted that Beijing and Moscow had announced they were pursuing closer relations since more than 100,000 Russian troops were sent to the Ukrainian border.

We would expect all nations, all governments around the world, to be denouncing what is taking place with the threats of violence against Ukraine.

I do note that the Chinese government, together with the Russian government, have been banding together on this issue and that the Chinese government has not denounced what is occurring in Ukraine.”

In January-February, the entire Russian Navy fleet announced that it would conduct military exercises in the waters around the base, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean.

It is thought that the intention is to show off the ability to operate in the east and west in response to the recent movement of the Russian army around Ukraine.”

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Russia-Ukraine crisis a ‘dangerous moment for the world’, warns Truss

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UK foreign secretary says invasion by Putin could embolden Iran and China to expand their ambitions

The UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has warned of a “dangerous moment for the world” as the “highly likely” prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine could embolden other countries such as Iran and China to expand their ambitions.

Speaking on Sky News, Truss said “we could be on the brink of a war in Europe, which would have severe consequences not just for the people of Russian and Ukraine but for the broader security in Europe”, adding she was “very worried”.

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Ukraine crisis: Russian invasion could start at ‘any time’, White House warns – live updates

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Latest words from Scholz as he prepares to meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy:

We urgently expect signs of de-escalation from Moscow. Further military aggression would have very serious consequences for Russia. I absolutely agree with our allies on that. We are witnessing a very, very serious threat to peace in Europe.

“Ukraine is convening a meeting with Russia and all member states in the next 48 hours to discuss the reinforcement and movement of Russian forces along our border,” he wrote on Facebook.

I would like to emphasise once again that we are talking about the movement of Russian troops on Russian territory,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, once again accusing Ukraine of ramping up tensions.

“Large-scale movements of Ukraine’s armed forces are also carried out in the border zone on Ukrainian territory, moreover, in the area that borders on the territory of the self-proclaimed republics, which leads to escalation of the situation”

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Russia sending thousands more troops to Ukraine border

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Move suggests Putin could extend crisis for weeks as Johnson and Biden agree ‘crucial window for diplomacy’ still exists

Russia is sending thousands more troops to its border with Ukraine in a sign that Vladimir Putin could extend the crisis for weeks, as Boris Johnson warned the situation had become “very, very dangerous”.

British officials estimate that a further 14 Russian battalions are heading towards Ukraine, each numbering about 800 troops, on top of the 100 battalions massed on the borders – a force already believed capable of launching an invasion.

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Ukraine crisis has financial markets spooked, but not yet despondent | Larry Elliott

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Shares dipped and oil prices crept closer to the $100 mark due to fears of invasion and resulting economic sanctions

The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has left financial markets jittery but not yet panicky. Unsurprisingly, shares took a tumble on the world’s bourses and there was a brief rise in oil prices to just over $96 a barrel.

Investors were taking few chances and sought out traditional safe havens such as the US dollar, but there was little sense that world war three was about to break out. If anything, financial markets seem to be underestimating the risks.

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Zelenskiy confirms Ukraine’s desire to join Nato – video

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Ukraine's president has quashed suggestions by the country’s ambassador to Britain that it could drop its bid to join Nato to avoid war with Russia. Speaking at a press conference, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said: 'We would like Nato membership. It would ensure our security, our territorial sovereignty'

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Putin continues to rattle sabre but with rare nod towards de-escalation

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Analysis: it is still unclear how far Russian president is willing to go to achieve his Ukraine goals

Almost a year ago, Russia began moving forces from Siberia and other regions to the border with Ukraine. With more than half of its land forces now poised for an attack, whether or not there will be a war with Ukraine hinges on the decision of Vladimir Putin, whose options range from a large-scale assault to a decision to hold his troops back or ultimately send them home.

At stake is a potentially devastating conflict, sanctions and economic hardship, and a verdict on the legacy of Putin, who has broadcast his decision to engage in brinksmanship with the west, saying that the tensions have a “definite effect” and should be maintained “as long as possible”.

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Liz Truss warns Russia could launch Ukraine invasion ‘almost immediately’ – video

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Vladimir Putin could launch an invasion of Ukraine 'almost immediately', the foreign secretary has warned after chairing a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee. Liz Truss repeated a call for Britons to leave Ukraine because of the threat of war. She also defended her decision to travel to Moscow to meet her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, saying: 'The Russians didn’t like what I had to say, but I say it nevertheless, and I want them to desist, and I want them to be aware that there will be severe costs of an invasion'

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German leader to head to Moscow amid fears time is running out

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Olaf Scholz will make economic case for peace to defuse ‘extremely dangerous’ situation in Ukraine

Olaf Scholz will use his trip to Moscow on Tuesday to press home the economic cost of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, German government sources have said in what some European leaders fear could be a last opportunity to defuse the “extremely dangerous” situation on the border between the two eastern countries.

The German chancellor, who has faced criticism at home for cutting a low-key profile in the diplomatic effort around the military buildup on the Ukrainian border until now, first arrives in Kyiv on Monday as US intelligence over the weekend claimed that Russia had accelerated plans for an invasion and could move troops across the border as soon as Wednesday, before the end of the Winter Olympics on 20 February.

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Ukraine crisis: miscalculation could trigger unintended wider conflict

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‘Risk of something going down like a mid-air collision, or a trigger-happy Russian or American, can really escalate things quickly’

The unprecedented Russian military encirclement of Ukraine has not only brought closer the prospect of a devastating war in that country, it has also raised the risks of triggering an unintended wider conflict.

The US and Nato have been adamant that their troops will not enter Ukraine no matter what happens, and the Pentagon has pulled out the 160 national guard soldiers who were acting as military advisers.

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Ukraine crisis live: US threatens ‘crippling’ sanctions on Russia if it invades

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Latest updates: US president said he remained prepared to engage in diplomacy but warned he was prepared for other scenarios

US staff at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest regional security organisation, began leaving by car from the rebel-held city of Donetsk in east Ukraine on Sunday, Reuters reports.

The OSCE conducts civilian monitoring operations in the self-proclaimed separatist republics – such as Donetsk and Luhansk – where war since 2014 has killed 14,000 people. The OSCE has not commented on the US staff withdrawals.

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Uncertainty over jobs data due to Omicron as nation records at least 47 virus deaths – as it happened

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Uncertainty over jobs data due to Omicron; Mark McGowan says WA border reopening still to be decided; Daniel Andrews announces LGBTQ+ support package; Victoria’s Covid rules under review as nation records least 47 Covid-related deaths; Scott Morrison condemns ‘bullying’ on Ukraine border. This blog is now closed

Things get trickier when Speers asked Keneally whether Labor believes schools should be allowed to hire and fire teachers based on whether they are gay or transgender under the law.

Keneally started by saying that “Labor also supports the right of religious schools, faith-based schools to be able to hire staff, whether it is teachers or other staff, that support the mission and the values of the school.”

And so it’s straightforward with children, we think there are some slight complexities with teachers and staff that should be looked at by the Australian Law Reform Commission.”

David, let’s look at what Labor did in the parliament this week. We do believe that people of faith deserve protection from discrimination and extending the law to do that and we think that should not come at the expense of increasing discrimination to other groups of people. We also believe that students at school should be protected and that reflected in the amendments we moved and supported.

So we would like to see the government now accept that amendment that has been supported by the House of Representatives with those five Liberals crossing the floor, and they should just get this bill done. The prime minister promised some years ago to people of faith he would provide this legislative protection. He promised in writing that he would protect children. He is – if he is going to break that promise, he needs to explain it to the Australian people.

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Ukraine crisis: Kremlin denounces US ‘peak hysteria’ after Putin-Biden call

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US president and Russia’s leader make call after Macron tells Putin sincere negotiations are incompatible with an escalation in tensions; UK troops training Ukrainian army to leave this weekend

The Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra has called on Dutch citizens to leave Ukraine as soon as possible due to the security situation there and issued a notice advising against travelling to the country.

This report is from Reuters.

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Biden warns Putin of ‘severe costs’ of Ukraine invasion in phone call

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Hour long call between US and Russian presidents widely seen as last-ditch attempt to stop invasion of Ukraine

Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin talked by phone for over an hour on Saturday in what is widely seen as a last-ditch effort to fend off a Russian invasion of Ukraine which the US has warned could start as early as Wednesday.

The White House said that the Kremlin had suggested the call and Biden had accepted, and it began shortly after 11am Washington time, ending just over an hour later.

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