The US president has urged American citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. 'We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. This is a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly,' Joe Biden said in an interview with NBC News. In Berlin on Thursday night, Russia and Ukraine said they had failed to reach any breakthrough after a day of related talks with French and German officials aimed at ending an eight-year separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine
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‘Things could go crazy quickly,’ Biden warns on Ukraine as talks in Berlin fail
US president urges all Americans to leave Ukraine immediately, while British defence secretary heads to Moscow
US president Joe Biden has warned that “things could go crazy quickly” in Ukraine and again urged American citizens to leave immediately, as the UK’s defence secretary headed to Moscow in the latest round of diplomacy.
“American citizens should leave, should leave now,” Biden said in an interview with NBC News. “We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. This is a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly.”
Continue reading...Macron was kept away from Putin in Kremlin for ‘refusing Russian Covid test’
‘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.
Continue reading...Russian teenager jailed over ‘Minecraft plot to blow up virtual spy HQ’
Boy of 16 sentenced to five years for alleged plan to target FSB building created in computer game
A Russian teenager has been sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly planning to blow up a virtual FSB security service building in the video game Minecraft.
The ruling falls into a broader pattern under President Vladimir Putin in which young Russians are put behind bars on controversial and preemptive terrorism charges.
Continue reading...‘Mercenaries have skills armies lack’: former Wagner operative opens up
Marat Gabidullin has written memoir about fighting for Wagner because Russians should know ‘mercenaries exist’
Sitting in a cafe in an upmarket Moscow suburb, the former mercenary Marat Gabidullin looked a long way from the battlefields of Syria where he fought half a decade ago.
Gripping his recently finished memoir, In the Same River Twice, the first published account of fighting for the secretive Russian mercenary outfit Wagner, Gabidullin said: “I wrote this because I realised it’s time for our country to face the truth: mercenaries exist.”
Continue reading...Liz Truss warns Russia of sanctions during tense Ukraine talks
Foreign secretary issues warning as Sergei Lavrov describes UK’s contribution to talks as ‘just slogans’
The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has personally warned Moscow of tough sanctions that are to be imposed if Russia attacks Ukraine, during tense talks that Russia’s top diplomat said were like a conversation of “the mute with the deaf”.
The British sanctions package remained under government review on Thursday, somewhat undermining Truss’s threat as she led a British diplomatic effort to head off a potential Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Continue reading...‘Most dangerous moment’ in Ukraine crisis, says Johnson meeting with Nato chief – video
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
Continue reading...Liz Truss heads to Moscow with ‘toughest sanctions’ plan delayed
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.
Continue reading...Can Ukraine and Russia be persuaded to abide by Minsk accords?
Analysis: As Macron tries to revive 2015 agreement, Ukraine believes it is impossible to fulfil as it could hand power to Russia
In the often acrimonious back-and-forth between Russia and Ukraine in recent years, “fulfilling Minsk” has become something of a meaningless mantra: all sides agree to abide by the 2015 Minsk accords in public, but neither has any real intention of implementing the provisions of the agreement.
Yet in his intensive peacemaking efforts this week, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, appears to be pinning his hopes on a renewed attempt to breathe life into the seven-year-old agreement.
Continue reading...Belarus military drills to begin as Russia ratchets up Ukraine tensions
Satellite imagery shows much Russian hardware has been moved to locations close to Ukraine border
Russia and Belarus will begin 10 days of joint military drills on Thursday, setting in train one of the most overtly threatening elements of the Kremlin’s buildup of forces around Ukraine’s borders.
Valery Gerasimov, the head of the Russian general staff, arrived in Belarus on Wednesday to oversee the drills.
Continue reading...Most Europeans want to stand with Kyiv against Moscow, poll suggests
More than 60% of people surveyed believe Nato should come to Ukraine’s defence if Russia invades
Majorities across Europe think Russia will invade Ukraine in 2022 and believe both Nato and the EU should stand by Kyiv, according to a study whose authors suggest the crisis could end up dramatically changing the way Europeans view their security.
“The data suggests something of a geopolitical awakening in Europe,” said Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), which carried out the polling in seven countries, accounting for two-thirds of the EU’s population.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine crisis: where are Putin’s troops and what are his options?
A visual guide to recent troop deployments as tensions soar
American officials have warned of the “very distinct possibility” of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in the next few days, after Russia forward-deployed hundreds of tanks, self-propelled artillery and even short-range ballistic missiles from as far away as Siberia to within striking range.
Continue reading...Emmanuel Macron’s remarks on Russia set alarm bells ringing
Analysis: French president’s comments after Ukraine talks with Vladimir Putin should concern Nato alliance
Domestic critics of Emmanuel Macron, Nato hardliners and the leadership in Ukraine will be suspiciously examining the French president’s late-night remarks at his Moscow press conference on Monday for signs of freelancing.
At one level, Macron, three months from a re-election campaign, stuck pretty faithfully to the script he had exhaustively agreed with his Nato partners before his meeting with Vladimir Putin, but at another level his particular view of Russia as a European nation, and lofty talk of a new security guarantees, will have set alarm bells ringing.
Continue reading...Macron holds talks with Ukraine leader as Moscow denies deal to de-escalate
Volodymyr Zelenskiy hosts meeting in Kyiv amid confusion over French claims of private agreement with Putin
Emmanuel Macron has held talks with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Kyiv amid confusion over French claims that Russia has privately agreed not to carry out any new “military initiatives”.
French officials made the suggestion after six hours of talks late on Monday between Macron and Vladimir Putin. The officials, speaking anonymously, said Putin had agreed to pull Russian troops out of Belarus once military exercises conclude later this month.
Continue reading...Macron urges ‘de-escalation’ in Ukraine crisis at Moscow talks with Putin – video
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and Russia's Vladimir Putin did not appear to reach a breakthrough in negotiations at the Kremlin on Monday aimed at fending off a Russian attack on Ukraine. Macron urged 'de-escalation' in the region, as Putin acknowledged the French leader's efforts in Europe's collective security
Continue reading...What have Nord Stream 2 and gas got to do with the Ukraine standoff?
We answer your questions on the pipeline as the west considers its options in the event of a Russian invasion
Gas is not just a source of energy, sometimes it is a political weapon. As western countries weigh possible sanctions against Russia for an invasion of Ukraine, the future of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline hangs in the balance. But it’s complicated. The EU gets 41% of its gas from Russia; Russia earns 60% of its import revenues from the bloc. The crisis over Ukraine comes as Europe is struggling to deal with soaring gas prices and internal divisions over how to wean itself off fossil fuels in response to the climate emergency.
Continue reading...US troops arrive in Poland as Russia adds to forces at Ukraine border – video
The US has ordered about 3,000 extra troops to bolster Nato’s eastern flank in Poland and Romania.
Russia has denied planning to invade Ukraine but has tens of thousands of troops near its neighbour’s borders
Continue reading...Macron hopes for ‘historic solution’ to Ukraine crisis ahead of Putin meeting
French leader, who will travel to Kyiv on Tuesday, is optimistic he can secure peace, despite the US saying Russia could invade ‘tomorrow’
French president Emmanuel Macron believes he can deliver “a historic solution” to the Ukraine crisis ahead of his arrival in Moscow for talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
After a flurry of diplomatic activity that included talks with US president Joe Biden this weekend and three phone calls with Putin, Macron will land in Moscow on Monday seeking a “de-escalation” of the tense standoff on Ukraine’s eastern borders.
Continue reading...Russia has enough troops ready to take Kyiv, says former Ukraine defence chief
White House believes Moscow has amassed at least 70% of firepower needed for mid-February invasion
Russia has enough troops in place to seize Kyiv or another Ukrainian city but not yet for a full takeover and occupation of the country, Ukraine’s former defence minister has said, as Washington warned that an invasion could take place at any time.
Andriy Zagorodnyuk said in an interview with the Guardian that the situation looked “pretty dire”. “Russia could now seize any city in Ukraine. But we still don’t see the 200,000 troops needed for a full-scale invasion,” he said.
Continue reading...Biden rattles his sabre at Putin … but it’s Xi he really wants to scare
Tub-thumping talk of all-out war in Ukraine seems overblown but the White House knows the fledgling Sino-Russian axis is a real threat, in Taiwan and elsewhere
If, as seems increasingly probable, Russia decides not to launch an all-out invasion of Ukraine, tub-thumping US and British politicians who have spent weeks scaring the public with loose talk of looming Armageddon will have some explaining to do.
The military build-up directed by Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, is real enough. But suspicion grows that the actual as opposed to the hypothetical threat of a large-scale conventional attack is being mis-read, misinterpreted, over-estimated or deliberately exaggerated.
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