Students look at explosives during a civil safety lesson organized by police at a school in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The city government conducted civilian training amid fears of a Russian invasion.
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
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Efrem Lukatsky / AP
Students look at explosives during a civil safety lesson organized by police at a school in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The city government conducted civilian training amid fears of a Russian invasion.
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
MOSCOW – The Kremlin said on Thursday that there is “little basis for optimism” in resolving the Ukraine crisis after the US rejected key Russian demands, but that dialogue is still possible. .
Tensions have risen in recent weeks, as the United States and its NATO allies have expressed concern that the buildup of some 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine is a sign that Moscow plans to invade its former Soviet neighbor. . Russia denies having any such design – and has made a series of demands that it says will improve security in Europe.
But as expected, the US and the Western alliance firmly rejected any concessions on key points by Moscow on Wednesday, refuses to permanently ban Ukraine from joining NATO and said that the deployment of troops and military equipment by the Allies in Eastern Europe was non-negotiable.
The US has outlined areas where some of Russia’s concerns can be addressed, which could offer a path to de-escalation. However, as it has repeatedly done for the past several weeks, Washington also warned Moscow of dire sanctions if it invaded Ukraine. In addition to the penalties targeting the Russian people and key economic sectors, several senior US officials said on Thursday with certainty that Germany would not allow a new gas pipeline construction to begin. operate in the event of a failure.
All eyes are now on President Vladimir Putin, who will decide how Russia will react amid fears that Europe could sink into war again.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodmyr Zelenskyy on Thursday to reiterate US and allied support, including the recent delivery of US military aid.
“Had a long phone conversation with POTUS,” Zelenskyy tweeted. “Discussed recent diplomatic efforts to de-escalate and agreed on joint actions for the future. Thank you President Joe Biden for continued military support. Financial assistance possibilities. for Ukraine was also discussed.”
The White House said in a statement that Biden told Zelenskyy he was “seeking additional macroeconomic support to help Ukraine’s economy” as the country comes under pressure from Russia’s military buildup.
Meanwhile, the United States announced that the United Nations Security Council will hold an open meeting on Monday about what US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called “intimidating behavior” by Russia. She said the deployment of more than 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border and other destabilizing actions pose “a clear threat to international peace and security and the Charter of the United Nations.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier told reporters that the response from the US – and a similar one from NATO – left “little basis for optimism”. But he added that “there is always the prospect of continuing the dialogue, which is in the interest of both us and the Americans.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was cautious when asked if the Biden administration saw any glimmer of hope as the Russians said they would keep open communications even as they said they lacked optimism. .
“We don’t know if the Russians are playing diplomacy. We hope not,” Psaki said.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the US response had a number of factors that could lead to “the beginning of a serious talk on secondary issues”, but stressed that “the document did not have a positive response”. on the main issue.” Those are Moscow’s demands that NATO not expand and the alliance refrain from deploying weapons that could threaten Russia.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said top officials would submit proposals to Putin. Peskov said Russia’s response would be imminent.
The evasive official comments reflect the fact that it is Putin who will single-handedly decide Russia’s next moves. He warned of unspecified “military-technical measures” if the West refused to heed the demands.
Peskov added that Putin and Biden will decide whether they need to have another conversation after two calls last month.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv had seen the US response before it was handed over to Russia and had no objection. He tweeted that it is important that the US remains in close contact with Ukraine before and after all contact with Russia. “
During a visit to Denmark, Kuleba stressed his country’s need to strengthen its defenses.
“This crisis is a moment of truth, and this is why we talk about weapons,” he said. “This is why we talk about economic sanctions. This is why we talk about the united position of all of us, to show President Putin that there is no weak link. in our defense chain.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said during the parliamentary debate on Ukraine that her government was closely coordinating its policy with its allies, looking at a range of options that could include pipelines new Russian gas Nord Stream 2 to Germany.
While diplomacy continues, so do moves that escalate tensions. Russia has conducted a series of drills involving infantry and motorized artillery units in southwestern Russia, fighter jets in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, dozens of warships in the Black Sea and the Arctic. , with Russian fighters and paratroopers in Belarus.
NATO says it is strengthening deterrence in the Baltic Sea region and the US has ordered 8,500 troops on heightened alert for potential deployments to Europe.
As fears of war grew, thousands of Ukrainians expressed their resolve to withstand Russian pressure under the hashtag #UkrainiansWillResist on Twitter and Facebook.
Andrii Levus, the campaign’s initiator, wrote: “No one will force the Ukrainians to accept the Kremlin’s ultimatum.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has organized training on how to act in emergency situations, with an emphasis on handling explosives.
In addition to concerns about a possible Russian attack in Ukraine, there is also speculation that Moscow’s response could include military deployments to the Western Hemisphere.
While a senior Russian diplomat recently declined to rule out such deployments to Cuba and Venezuela, a top Putin associate on Thursday expressed skepticism about that prospect.
“Cuba and Venezuela are aiming to get out of isolation and restore normal relations with the US to a certain extent, so there can’t be any talk about setting up bases there like that. happened under the Soviet Union,” Dmitry Medvedev, a deputy minister. the head of the Russian Security Council, told Russian media.
While he accused the West of using Ukraine as a way to contain Russia, he acknowledged that the Russia-NATO conflict “would be the most catastrophic and simplest scenario, and I hope it won’t.” never happened.”
While fears of a possible Russian attack remain, a separatist conflict is simmering in Ukraine. After ousting a Kremlin-friendly president in Kyiv in 2014, Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula and supported an uprising in the country’s eastern industrial heartland. Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels has left more than 14,000 people dead and efforts to reach a settlement have stalled.
Since the conflict began, Russia has been accused of sending troops and weapons to the separatists, which it denies. On Thursday, Peskov would not comment on a proposal from the Kremlin’s main political party, United Russia, which suggested that Moscow respond to Western arms transfers to Ukraine by sending weapons to Ukraine. gas for the rebels. He added that Putin knew about the proposal but did not immediately react.
Envoys from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany met in Paris on Wednesday to discuss how to resolve that conflict, making no tangible progress but agreeing to hold another meeting in two week. Zelenskyy hailed the talks as “constructive” and urged a quick meeting of the leaders of the four countries.
