A Ukrainian service member listens to artillery shots standing in a trench on a position at the line of separation between Ukraine-held territory and rebel-held territory near Zolote, Ukraine, late Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. (AP Photo)Russia Ukraine Crisis Live: As Western leaders warn of an imminent Russian invasion, Belarus defence minister Sunday said that in a step that further intensifies pressure on Ukraine, Russia and Belarus are extending military exercises that were due to end on Sunday. Acknowledging the “real possibility” of war, Vice President Kamala Harris Harris tried to make the case to American allies that rapidly spiralling tensions on the Ukraine-Russia border meant European security was under threat and there should be unified support for economic penalties if the Kremlin invades its neighbour, Reuters reported.
The Indian Embassy in Ukraine, meanwhile, advised all Indian nationals, whose stay is not deemed essential, to temporarily leave Ukraine. Indian students were also advised to also get in touch with respective student contractors for updates on chartered flights.
Earlier in the day, Multiple explosions could be heard late Saturday and early Sunday in the centre of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters reporter said. The origin of the explosions was not clear. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the BBC that the plans that the West is seeing at Ukraine’s border suggest that a Russian invasion could be “the biggest war in Europe since 1945 in terms of sheer scale”.
Almost 2,000 ceasefire violations were registered in eastern Ukraine by monitors for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Saturday, a diplomatic source told Reuters Sunday. The Ukrainian government and separatist forces have been fighting in eastern Ukraine since 2014. An upsurge in shelling has thrust the region to the centre of tensions between Moscow and the West over a Russian military buildup near Ukraine.
Ukrainian Army soldiers pose for a photo as they gather to celebrate a Day of Unity in Odessa, Ukraine, February 16, 2022. (AP)
Amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, families of Indian Embassy officials in Ukraine have been asked to return to India, sources said on Sunday. This came hours after India on Sunday, in the second such advisory this week, asked all its citizens to leave Ukraine temporarily unless their stay there is not absolutely essential.
In the fresh advisory, the Indian embassy in Ukraine asked Indian nationals to leave the eastern European nation temporarily if their stay is not essential. Read more
As tensions escalate, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine is being evacuated.
Acknowledging the "real possibility" of war, Vice President Kamala Harris Harris tried to make the case to American allies that rapidly spiralling tensions on the Ukraine-Russia border meant European security was under threat and there should be unified support for economic penalties if the Kremlin invades its neighbour, Reuters reported.
Repeated Western predictions of a Russian invasion of Ukraine are provocative and may have adverse consequences, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he was convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a decision to invade Ukraine, and though there was still room for diplomacy, he expected Russia to move on the country in the coming days. Russia has repeatedly denied preparing to invade Ukraine. Putin takes no notice of such Western statements, Peskov told Rossiya 1 state TV.
"The fact is that this directly leads to an increase in tension. And when tension is escalated to the maximum, as it is now, for example, on the line of contact (in eastern Ukraine), then any spark, any unplanned incident or any minor planned provocation can lead to irreparable consequences," he added.
"So all this has - may have - detrimental consequences. The daily exercise of announcing a date for Russia to invade Ukraine is a very bad practice." --Reuters
In view of continued tensions in Ukraine, all Indian nationals whose stay is not deemed essential and all Indian students are advised to leave Ukraine temporarily. Indian students are advised to also get in touch with respective student contractors for updates on chartered flights.
The Netherlands Foreign Ministry on Sunday said it has decided to move its embassy functions in Ukraine from Kyiv to Lviv temporarily because of safety considerations.The decision follows statements by the United States saying that Russia could launch an attack on the country on any time.Many countries have moved diplomats to Lviv in the far west of Ukraine from Kyiv, with NATO moving its Ukraine staff there on Saturday.The Netherlands government last week urged Dutch citizens to leave Ukraine. --Reuters
Russia and Belarus are extending military drills that were due to end on Sunday, the Belarus defence minister said, in a step that further intensifies pressure on Ukraine as Western leaders warn of an imminent Russian invasion.The Belarus minister said the decision had been taken "in connection with the increase in military activity near the external borders" of Russia and Belarus and because of rising tension in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.NATO says Russia has up to 30,000 troops in Belarus and could use them as part of an invasion force to attack Ukraine, although Moscow denies any such intention. --Reuters
With a fear that a war could start within days, Germany and Austria told their citizens to leave Ukraine, Reuters reporetd. German air carrier Lufthansa canceled flights to Kyiv, and to Odesa, a Black Sea port that could be a key target in an invasion. NATO's liaison office in Kyiv said it was relocating staff to Brussels and to Lviv, the western Ukraine city.
Multiple explosions were heard Sunday in the centre of the separatist-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters witness said.
A loudspeaker in the area asked citizens to exercise caution. The origin of the explosions was not clear.
As shelling struck towns in eastern Ukraine Saturday, and civilians boarded buses in a chaotic evacuation, Russia engaged in a dramatic display of military theater, test-firing ballistic and cruise missiles.
Vladimir Putin presided over tests of nuclear-capable missiles as part of what Russia insists are nothing more than military exercises around Ukraine and not the precursor to an invasion. (Read more)
Ukraine Sunday suspended operations at one of the seven checkpoints to territory in the eastern Donbass region controlled by Russia-backed separatists, due to heavy shelling, the Ukrainian military said.
Incidents of shelling across the line dividing government forces and separatists increased sharply last week, in what the Ukrainian government called a provocation.
Considering 'the escalation of the situation... and the inability to guarantee the safety of the civilian population' using the checkpoint, the command was suspending its use from 8 am (0600 GMT) Sunday 'for the period of the threat,' the military said. Separatist officials accused Ukraine on social media site Telegram of shelling separatist-controlled areas and said they had to respond accordingly. (Reuters)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the plans that the West is seeing in Ukraine's border suggest that a Russian invasion could be "the biggest war in Europe since 1945 in terms of sheer scale".
"All the signs are that the plan has already in some senses begun," Johnson told BBC in an interview.
"People need to understand the sheer cost in human life that could entail," he added.
At the White House this week, President Joe Biden said the United States had “reason to believe” that Russia was “engaged in a false flag operation” to use as an excuse to invade Ukraine.
A new report by the European Expert Association, a research group that focuses on security in Ukraine, and the technology watchdog group Reset Tech said that since October, misinformation researchers had observed rumours circulating widely online and in Russian news media that could be the groundwork for such an operation, or to help justify a military buildup.
Many of the rumours first started circulating on anonymous Telegram channels, and were then repeated in televised statements by Russian officials, the report said. Others started with statements from Russian officials and were repeated on Telegram channels until they became talking points among ordinary citizens. (Read more)
Almost 2,000 ceasefire violations were registered in eastern Ukraine by monitors for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Saturday, a diplomatic source told Reuters Sunday.
Ukrainian government and separatist forces have been fighting in eastern Ukraine since 2014.
An upsurge in shelling has thrust the region to the centre of tensions between Moscow and the West over a Russian military buildup near Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Saturday called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet him and seek resolution to the crisis.
"I don't know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, so I am proposing a meeting," Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference, where he also met with US Vice President Kamala Harris. Zelenskyy said Russia could pick the location for the talks. "Ukraine will continue to follow only the diplomatic path for the sake of a peaceful settlement."
There was no immediate response from the Kremlin. (AP)
The World Bank Group Saturday said it is readying a $350 million disbursement to Ukraine that the group's board will consider by the end of March as part of a plan for short- and long-term financing for the country.
In a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy Saturday, World Bank President David Malpass said the group will continue to support the Ukrainian people and economy for short- and long-term financing needs, the group said in a statement. (Reuters)
As Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, spiraled into chaos last month over rising energy costs and anger at the government, the country’s leaders took a drastic step to quell protests: They blocked the internet.
First, they tried to ban access to some news sites, social networks and messaging services. Then, as activists bypassed those curbs with software that masked their locations, the authorities shut down almost all connectivity in the country.
The moves added uncertainty to an already dire situation. After payment apps and point-of-sale machines used to swipe debit cards went down, lengthy lines formed at ATMs as Kazakhs rushed to get cash. Families could not communicate with loved ones. Taxi drivers who relied on ride-booking apps said they stopped driving because they could not connect with passengers. (Read more)
Artillery fire escalated sharply in eastern Ukraine Saturday, and thousands of residents fled the region in chaotic evacuations — two developments rife with opportunities for what the United States has warned could be a pretext for a Russian invasion.
Russia-backed separatists, who have been fighting the Ukrainian government for years, have asserted, without evidence, that Ukraine was planning a large-scale attack on territory they control.
At the same time, the firing of mortars, artillery and rocket-propelled grenades by separatist rebels along the front line roughly doubled the level of the previous two days, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs said. Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and five wounded, the military said. (Read more)
Multiple explosions could be heard late Saturday and early Sunday in the centre of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters reporter said.
The origin of the explosions was not clear. There was no immediate comment from separatist authorities or from Kyiv. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Saturday he had an "urgent" phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed possible ways of immediate de-escalation and political-diplomatic settlement in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine has reported an increase in ceasefire violations by Russia-backed separatists recently, and Kyiv's Western allies are concerned that Russia is poised to launch a military offensive against Ukraine. Russia denies any plans to attack its neighbour.
"(I)Informed about the aggravation on the frontline, our losses, the shelling," Zelenskiy wrote in a tweet. (Reuters)
Ukraine has received a plane load of machine guns, surveillance gear and rifles as part of a Canadian military assistance package, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Saturday.
Ukraine has received plane loads of arms and military gear from NATO allies as the country braces for a possible military attack by Russia."We received military aid in the form of rifles, machine guns with optical sights, night vision & surveillance devices & military equipment.
Thank you for this important & timely decision," Reznikov wrote in a tweet. (Reuters)
World Bank said that it will continue to support Ukrainian people and economy for short and long-term financial needs. The statement was issued after the meeting World Bank Group President David Malpass with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to a readout from the meeting, the World Bank is considering quick disbursing budget support of up to $350 million by March-end.
NATO said they had relocated Ukraine staff from Kyiv to Lviv and Brussels for safety reasons, Reuters reported. This comes amid the reports of shelling within a few hundred metres (yards) of Ukraine's interior minister on Saturday as he met journalists on a tour of the frontline with Russian-backed rebels.
Poland is ready to provide Kyiv with additional defensive weapons, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday following a rise in tensions over Ukraine's standoff with Russia.
"We are ready to provide additional supplies of defensive weapons ... weapons that are to be used to defend (Ukraine's) territory, defend cities, defend people, places where they are against the aggressions of the Russian army," Morawiecki said during a televised news conference in Munich. (Reuters)
Reports that Ukraine has been shelling regions controlled by Moscow-backed separatists and inside the Russian border are "pure lies", Ukraine's president said on Saturday, adding that his country would not respond to provocations.
President Voldymyr Zelenskiy was addressing senior Western security officials at the annual Munich Security Conference amid reports of explosions inside Russian territory to Ukraine's east, and in breakaway regions of Ukraine.
"What was shown yesterday in the temporarily occupied territories, some shells allegedly flying from our side, some flying all the way to Rostov, these are pure lies," he said. (Reuters)
Dozen mortar shells fell within a few hundred metres (yards) of Ukraine's interior minister on Saturday as he met journalists on a tour of the frontline with Russian-backed rebels.
Foreign ministers from the G7 group of rich nations said on Saturday they saw no evidence that Russia is reducing military activity near Ukraine's borders and remain "gravely concerned" about the situation. "We call on Russia to choose the path of diplomacy, to de-escalate tensions, to substantively withdraw military forces from the proximity of Ukraine's borders and to fully abide by international commitments," the countries said in a joint statement released by Britain's foreign ministry.
"As a first step, we expect Russia to implement the announced reduction of its military activities along Ukraine's borders. We have seen no evidence of this reduction," they added. (Reuters)
The Ukrainian military said two soldiers were killed and four wounded in shelling by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine on Saturday, where a flare up of violence this week has sparked fears it could be the trigger for Russian military action.
The Ukrainian military said on its Facebook page it had recorded 70 ceasefire violations by separatists since the start of the day compared with 66 cases over the previous 24 hours. Separatists opened fire on more than 30 settlements along the front line using heavy artillery, which has been prohibited by agreements aimed at cooling the long-running conflict, the military said.
A group of lawmakers and foreign media visiting the conflict zone came under fire and had to be evacuated to a shelter, a spokesperson for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's party said in a separate statement on Saturday. Separatist officials accused Ukraine on social media site Telegram of shelling separatist-controlled areas and said they had to respond accordingly. (Reuters)
Ukraine could face the worst-case scenario of a Russian invasion as soon as next week, and Europe faced one of its most perilous security situations since the early 20th century, British foreign minister Liz Truss said on Saturday.
"That worst-case scenario could happen as early as next week. The reality is that Russia does want to turn the clock back," Truss told a security conference in Munich. "In the last week alone, we've seen a doubling of disinformation, and we've seen false flag operations in the Donbass region. I'm afraid that Russia has shown that they are not serious about diplomacy," she added. (Reuters)
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday said he wanted to convene a meeting of global powers to secure new security guarantees for Ukraine because the current global system is too weak. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference while his country back home was bracing for a possible attack from Russia, Zelenskiy also called on members of the NATO alliance to be honest about whether they wanted Ukraine to join. (Reuters)
France urged its citizens on Saturday to leave the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk without delay after a rise in tensions following Russia's military build-up near Ukraine. A travel advisory issued on the French foreign ministry's website also suggested French citizens in Ukraine should leave if they do not have urgent business there. Earlier on Saturday, Germany's foreign ministry told German nationals to leave Ukraine. (Reuters)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's dismissal of Moscow's assertion of genocide in the east Ukraine region of Donbass held by pro-Russia rebels is "unacceptable," Interfax news agency reported on Saturday, citing the foreign ministry.
"This is not for German leaders to make a joke of genocide issues," the Russian foreign ministry said, according to Interfax. Earlier on Saturday, Scholz said Russian President Vladimir Putin's assertion that Ukraine was committing genocide in the Donbass region was ridiculous.
Meanwhile, the German foreign ministry has asked German citizens to leave Ukraine now. (Reuters)
Russia's top diplomat told France's foreign minister by phone on Saturday that ignoring Moscow's security demands was bad for stability in Europe and elsewhere, Russia's foreign ministry said, as tensions surged in eastern Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia's veteran foreign minister, told France's Jean-Yves Le Drian that all countries should comply with their commitments to ensure the principle of "equal and indivisible security", the ministry said.
"Ignoring Russia's legitimate rights in this area adversely affects the stability not only on the European continent, but also in the world," it said in a statement. For his part, Le Drian said that dialogue was still possible, and that France was committed to work for it, but it was up to Russia to make that choice." Today, Russia's actions and words are out of step," Le Drian's ministry said in a statement. (Reuters)
Russia's top diplomat told France's foreign minister by phone on Saturday that ignoring Moscow's security demands was bad for stability in Europe and elsewhere, Russia's foreign ministry said, as tensions surged in eastern Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia's veteran foreign minister, told France's Jean-Yves Le Drian that all countries should comply with their commitments to ensure the principle of "equal and indivisible security", the ministry said.
"Ignoring Russia's legitimate rights in this area adversely affects the stability not only on the European continent, but also in the world," it said in a statement. For his part, Le Drian said that dialogue was still possible, and that France was committed to work for it, but it was up to Russia to make that choice." Today, Russia's actions and words are out of step," Le Drian's ministry said in a statement. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday that if Western nations failed to fulfil their promises to support Ukraine's independence, it would have damaging consequences worldwide, including for Taiwan.
Russian troops are massed near Ukraine's borders and President Vladimir Putin has launched exercises by strategic nuclear missile forces, but Russia rejects Western concerns that it is poised to invade.
"We do not fully know what President Putin intends, but the omens are grim," Johnson told a security conference in Munich. "If Ukraine is endangered, the shock will echo around the world. And those echoes will be heard in east Asia, will be heard in Taiwan," he added. "People would draw the conclusion that aggression pays, and that might is right.
"China views Taiwan as part of its territory, and has not ruled out the use of force to regain control of the island, which has governed itself since 1949.Johnson said Western nations had repeatedly told Ukraine that they would support its independence.
"How hollow, how meaningless, how insulting those words would seem, if at the very moment when their sovereignty and independence is imperilled, we simply look away," he said. (Reuters)
President Vladimir Putin launched exercises by strategic nuclear missile forces on Saturday and Washington said Russian troops massed near Ukraine's border were "poised to strike".
As Western nations fear the start of one the worst conflicts since the Cold War, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russian forces were beginning to "uncoil and move closer" to the border with its former Soviet neighbour.
"We hope he steps back from the brink of conflict," he told a news conference on a visit to Lithuania, saying an invasion of Ukraine was not inevitable.
Russia ordered the military build-up while demanding NATO stop Ukraine ever joining the alliance but says predictions it is planning to invade Ukraine are wrong and dangerous. It says it is now pulling back while Washington and allies insist the build-up is mounting. (Reuters)
Boris Johnson expresses the UK’s “unequivocal support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” during a meeting with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Munich, reports The Guardian.
Ukraine Foreign Minister tweets, “Grateful to @SecBlinken for sharing additional data and assessments on Russia’s aggressive plans. Ukraine is now even better prepared for any further scenarios. Ukrainian and American diplomacy will spare no effort to protect Ukraine. The U.S. stands by Ukraine resolutely.”
He adds, “Russia must de-escalate the security crisis it created. Ukrainian diplomacy will be working tirelessly in the coming days to rally more support for Ukraine in diplomacy, defense, finance and sanctions. We will use every opportunity to protect Ukraine and avert further escalation.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday appeared to compare Russia's military to a snake that was uncoiling and preparing to strike Ukraine after a massive military buildup that has stoked the biggest East-West crisis since the Cold War.
Austin, speaking on a trip to Lithuania, said he agreed with President Joe Biden's Friday assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a decision to stage a new invasion of Ukraine. (Reuters)
Ukraine is prepared for all scenarios, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday when asked if he agreed with U.S. President Biden's assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin had decided to invade."We are preparing for every possible scenario," Kuleba said at the Munich Security Conference, according to a press pool report. (Reuters)
Dr C Raja Mohan, Visiting Research Professor, National University of Singapore, dissects the many dimensions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, its impact on India and the way nations look at spheres of influence. Read more
Increasing hostilities with Ukraine and the West is advantageous to Russia given the tattered relationship between the USA and its European allies, the domestic support for such an endeavour and Putin’s need for a popularity boost ahead of the 2024 Russian Presidential elections. But how do the Ukrainians perceive the current state of affairs, and what they are prepared to do in order to protect their national sovereignty? Read research piece by Mira Patel
Russia hit sea and land-based targets with ballistic and cruise missiles on Saturday as part of strategic nuclear exercises overseen by President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, the Kremlin said. The annual exercises featured launches of Kinzhal and Tsirkon hypersonic missiles and a number of other weapons, the Kremlin said in a statement. (Reuters)
Ukraine's Russian-backed breakaway eastern territories have ordered military mobilisations amid a deadly escalation in fighting.
As tensions increase at the line that separates Ukrainian forces from Russia-backed separatists, Ukrainian families flee for life.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, US vice-president Kamala Harris warned of “significant and unprecedented economic costs” if Russia invades Ukraine.
Harris said, “Russia’s actions simply don’t match their words. We have prepared economic measures that will be swift, severe and united. We will target Russia’s financial institutions and key industries.”
She added, “We will target those who are complicit and those who aid and abet this unprovoked invasion. We will not stop with economic measures, but further reinforce NATO’s eastern flank.” (Reuters)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday there were "important indications" there was still a chance to avert a Russian attack on Ukraine via diplomacy given the Kremlin's apparent interest in negotiations on its security demands. "Despite all differences... we have an important indication that there is support for negotiations about arms control, about questions of transparency," he said in a panel at the Munich Security Conference.
The West is ready to respond immediately with sanctions on Russia in the case of an aggression but it still hopes to avoid that through dialogue, he said. (Reuters)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Saturday ordered the start of strategic nuclear exercises involving launches of ballistic missiles, the RIA news agency cited the Kremlin as saying. The exercises are Moscow's latest show of strength at a time of acute tension with the West over Ukraine.
"Yes," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying when asked if the drills had begun.
Separately, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Putin, took part in military exercises alongside Putin from a situation centre in the Kremlin, Belarusian state media reported.
The drills follow a huge series of manoeuvres by Russia's armed forces in the past four months that have included a build-up of troops -- estimated by the West to number 150,000 or more -- to the north, east and south of Ukraine. (Reuters)
Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilization Saturday amid a spike of violence in the war-torn region and fears in the West that Russia might use the strife as a pretext for an invasion.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russia separatist government in Ukraine's Donetsk region, released a statement announcing a full troop mobilization and urging reservists to show up at military enlistment offices.
A similar announcement quickly followed from Leonid Pasechnik, separatist leader in the Luhansk region.
Pushilin cited an “immediate threat of aggression" from Ukrainian forces, accusations that Ukrainian officials vehemently denied earlier.
“I appeal to all the men in the republic who can hold weapons to defend their families, their children, wives, mothers," Pushilin said. ”Together we will achieve the coveted victory that we all need."
The separatists and Ukrainian forces have been fighting for almost eight years. But the violence along the line of contact separating the two sides, including a humanitarian convoy hit by shelling, has risen in recent days. A car bombing Friday in the city of Donetsk also sharpened the sense of alarm. (AP)
The West will need an overwhelming display of unity if it is to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to avoid a "catastrophic" invasion of Ukraine, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday.
He made the comments before visiting the Munich Security Conference, which has been dominated by the crisis over Ukraine and Western concern that Russia is poised to invade its neighbour.
"There is still a chance to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, but it will require an overwhelming display of western solidarity beyond anything we have seen in recent history," Johnson said in a written statement to media.
The three-day Munich meeting, which began on Friday, has been attended by dignitaries including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
"I'll be urging unity in the face of potential Russian aggression in Ukraine. And that unity is absolutely vital if we're going to deter what I think would be an absolutely catastrophic act of aggression by Vladimir Putin," Johnson said in a video on social media. Johnson's office said he would deliver a similar message in his speech at the conference, and while in Munich would also meet with several European partners to discuss the response to the Ukraine crisis. (Reuters)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that a Russian attack on Ukraine would be a "serious mistake" with high "political, economic and geostrategic costs".
There was no justification for some 100,000 soldiers massing on Ukraine's borders, he told the Munich Security Conference in a livestreamed speech. "Russia has made the issue of Ukraine's possible NATO membership a casus belli, which is a paradox because here is no decision on this on the agenda," he said. The West was nonetheless ready to negotiate over Russia's security demands "without being naive". "We will differentiate clearly between untenable demands and legitimate security interests," he added. (Reuters)
Moscow's threats towards Ukraine could reshape the entire international system, the chief of the European Union's executive said on Saturday, warning Moscow that its thinking from "a dark past" could cost Russia a prosperous future.
"The world has been watching in disbelief as we face the largest build-up of troops on European soil since the darkest days of the Cold War, because the events of these days could reshape the entire international order," Ursula von der Leyen told the Munich Security Conference. (Reuters)
Multiple explosions were heard on Saturday morning in the north of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Reuters witness said. The origin of the explosions was not clear. There was no immediate comment from separatist authorities or from Kyiv.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Saturday that he had sent a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to engage in dialogue within the NATO-Russia Council to avert a conflict in Ukraine. Stoltenberg told the Munich Security Conference that there were no signs of a Russian withdrawal from the borders of Ukraine and that the risk of a conflict was real. (Reuters)
The leaders of Ukraine's two breakaway regions announced a general mobilisation on Saturday, spurring fears of a further escalation in fighting in the ex-Soviet country. (AFP)
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Saturday that he had sent a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to engage in dialogue within the NATO-Russia Council to avert a conflict in Ukraine.
Stoltenberg told the Munich Security Conference that there were no signs of a Russian withdrawal from the borders of Ukraine and that the risk of a conflict was real. (Reuters)
The Ukrainian military said a soldier was killed in shelling by pro-Russian separatists Saturday morning in east Ukraine, where violence this week in a long-running conflict has stirred concern it could be the trigger for Russian military action.
The Ukrainian militay said on its Facebook page that it had recorded 19 ceasefire violations by the separatists since the start of the day compared with 66 cases over the previous 24 hours. Separatists opened fire on more than 20 settlements, using heavy artillery, which have been prohibited by Minsk agreements, the military said.
Incidents of shelling across the line dividing government forces and separatists increased sharply this week, in what the Ukrainian government called a provocation. It strongly denied suggestions by Russia that Kyiv could launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine. The Minsk accords aim to end an 8-year-long conflict between the Ukrainian army and separatists in the east of the country. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend the Munich Security Conference Saturday and return home later the same day, a statement from his office said.
Zelenskiy's trip had been under scrutiny due to concern in Western countries that Russia is poised to launch a military offensive against Ukraine and could do so while the president is out of the country. Russia denies any plans to attack its neighbour. (Reuters)
The Kremlin confirmed Saturday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron will speak by phone on Sunday, the TASS news agency reported, amid soaring tensions over Ukraine.