Category Archives: Vladimir Putin

Ukraine crisis: Biden ‘convinced’ Russia plans invasion but diplomacy still possible – live

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Russian state media say a blast has occurred in Donetsk amid multiple US warnings of false flag incidents

Sam Jones here, taking over from Samantha Lock.

One of today’s main events will be the Munich security conference, where world leaders including US vice-president Kamala Harris, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, will gather to discuss the crisis.

It’s tragic and we’ll see terrible scenes unfolding. You would expect that President Putin – who obviously can’t be taken at his word – is manufacturing some sort of trigger, or is in the process of executing the final stages of his plan to go into Ukraine.

(Via Australian Associated Press)

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Britain steps up Ukraine warnings despite assurance from Moscow

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Analysis: evidence contrasts with statements from Russia that troops are being sent back to barracks

Britain believes that nearly half of Russian forces that have massed near Ukraine are now within 30 miles of the border, in contrast to statements from Moscow that its forces were being sent back to barracks.

Reinforcements from 14 battalions were in the process of arriving, officials added, while highlighting a pontoon bridge that had been briefly set up in Belarus in the past few days as an example of unusual military activity.

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Ukraine crisis: Nato fears Russia trying to stage pretext for attack after reports of multiple shelling incidents – live

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‘No certainty about Russia’s intentions’, warns Nato, after Ukraine government source says shelling ‘looks like provocation’

Some more detail has emerged regarding the denial from Ukrainian government forces over accusations of having targeted separatist positions in the country’s east. Ukraine says its troops were fired upon but did not retaliate.

A duty press officer of the Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation told Reuters by telephone:

Despite the fact that our positions were fired on with prohibited weapons, including 122mm artillery, Ukrainian troops did not open fire in response.

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Ukraine crisis: Nato considering new battlegroups in eastern Europe after ‘no sign’ of Russian de-escalation – live

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Nato secretary general sees ‘no sign of de-escalation on the ground’ and says organisation is developing options for bolstering eastern flank

Britain’s defence secretary has said Russia should be judged by its actions when it comes to de-escalating tension at the Ukraine border, adding he has not seen evidence of a withdrawal of troops.

Speaking in Brussels ahead of a meeting of Nato defence ministers, Ben Wallace told Sky News on Wednesday morning:

We’ll take Russia at its word, but we will judge them on their actions.

Until we see a proper de-escalation, we should all be cautious about the direction of travel from the Kremlin.”

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Russian pledge of troop withdrawals met with widespread scepticism

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Analysis: Experts have little faith in announcement and say there are no signs of de-escalation on Ukraine’s borders

A video of a handful of screeching tanks and lumbering armoured vehicles mounting a transport train in Crimea accompanied the Russian defence ministry’s trumpeted announcement that some of the forces that have been encircling Ukraine will “head for their garrisons”.

Such evidence is clearly far too tentative to amount to anything definitive, however. The movement of Russian forces towards Ukraine has been patiently documented by a group of open source intelligence analysts, relying on public domain information, including satellite imagery and a large supply of on the ground videos.

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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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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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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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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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The edge of war: what, exactly, does Putin want in Ukraine?

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The massive military buildup could be a bluff, or a political ploy designed for a Russian audience. Either way, the US is digging in

Russian spokespeople daily deny any intention to invade. So, too, did Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, when he met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, last week, and when he spoke to US president Joe Biden on the phone. There are two problems with this. First, given Putin’s Johnsonian relationship with truth, few western governments believe the denials. Second, Putin has not explained why, if his intentions are peaceful, more than half of Russia’s armed forces, including 130,000 troops, are massed on Ukraine’s borders. It could all be a bluff. But who would bet the house on that?

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US warns of ‘distinct possibility’ Russia will invade Ukraine within days

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  • Joe Biden due to speak with Putin by phone on Saturday
  • Officials tell Americans to leave Ukraine in next 48 hours

The US has warned of the “very distinct possibility” of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in the next few days, potentially involving an overwhelming attack on Kyiv, and told all remaining Americans to leave the country in the next 48 hours.

Joe Biden is due to speak to Vladimir Putin by phone on Saturday. Diplomatic sources said that Biden had told allied leaders in a call that Vladimir Putin had taken a decision to go ahead with an invasion, but Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said: “We have not seen anything come to us that says a final decision has been taken, [that] the go order has been given.”

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Macron was kept away from Putin in Kremlin for ‘refusing Russian Covid test’

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‘We could not accept that they get their hands on the president’s DNA’ a member of Macron’s entourage said

Emmanuel Macron refused a Kremlin request that he take a Russian Covid-19 test when he arrived to see Vladimir Putin this week, and was therefore kept at a distance from the Russian leader, two sources in Macron’s entourage told Reuters.

Observers were struck by images of Macron and Putin sitting at opposite ends of 4-metre-long (13 ft) table to discuss the Ukraine crisis on Monday, with some diplomats and others suggesting Putin might have wanted to send a diplomatic message.

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‘Most dangerous moment’ in Ukraine crisis, says Johnson meeting with Nato chief – video

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Boris Johnson has said the Ukraine crisis has entered 'the most dangerous moment' on a visit to Nato’s headquarters as Russia continues its military buildup on the borders of its southern neighbour.

Military analysts estimate Moscow has massed more than 135,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine, both in Russia and in Belarus – and some now believe nearly all the necessary elements are in place if Putin wanted to attack.

Nato's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said a political solution was still possible but warned Russia would 'pay a high price' if it chose confrontation

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Liz Truss heads to Moscow with ‘toughest sanctions’ plan delayed

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Foreign secretary told MPs laws would be in place by 10 February but nothing has been put to parliament

The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, will meet her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Thursday with her plan to have put the UK’s “toughest sanctions regime against Russia” on the statute book in time for the trip having fallen through.

Truss told MPs the laws would be in place by 10 February, but nothing has been put to parliament, raising suspicions among opposition MPs that government lawyers are struggling to frame the sweeping and unprecedented new laws.

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