According to high American officials, this invasion can “occur at any time”. On Friday, several countries, including the United Kingdom, asked their nationals to leave “immediately” Ukraine.
Le Monde with AFP
Western leaders, including the US president, Joe Biden, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, promise “fast and drastic” sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine, said the door. -PAROLE of the German Chancellor, Friday, February 11, after a teleconference between the Allies.
Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers started Thursday of large-scale exercises in Belarus, neighboring countries of Ukraine, who must theoretically last until February 20th. According to Westerners, Russia is preparing an imminent invasion of Ukraine. Moscow rejects these accusations, and says it just wants to ensure its safety in the face of Kiev’s hostility and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
An invasion of Ukraine by Russia can “occur at any time”, including before the end of the Beijing Olympic Games, on February 20, said Friday night the White House Advisor for National Security, Jake Sullivan. “We continue to see signs of Russian climbing, including the arrival of new forces on the Ukrainian border,” he said to the press, adding: “We do not say that a decision was made , that a final decision was taken by the President [Russian, Vladimir] Putin. “
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will speak to his Russian counterpart Saturday noon, announced Friday night the Elysee, stressing that the Westerners wanted to solve this crisis by “the diplomatic way, dialogue and deterrence.”.
Failed to several series of talks
Earlier Friday, the head of Norwegian military intelligence services stated that everything was ready from an operational point of view for a broad spectrum of Russian military operations in Ukraine. The Russians “have everything they need to put everything in execution, a minor invasion, of minor attacks everywhere in Ukraine, to a complete invasion with, possibly, an occupation of all the Ukraine or parts “of the country, said Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensones. “Now, it’s in the first place to President Putin to choose to do or not do it,” he added.
East of Ukraine has since grown to a war between Kiev and Prorussian separatists whose Kremlin is widely regarded as the military and financial sponsor.
Several series of talks in recent days have not made progress to resolve this crisis diplomatically, that Westerners describe as the most dangerous since the end of the Cold War.
Friday, the United Kingdom has advised its nationals to leave “immediately” Ukraine “by commercial means as long as they stay available”. Canada then Norway made similar recommendations. The Israeli government has decided to “evacuate families of diplomats and staff of its embassy in Ukraine”. Thursday, the President of the United States exhorted his fellow citizens to leave the country without waiting, because “things could quickly get carried away”.