Nato said on Monday it was putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, in what Russia denounced as an escalation of tensions over Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, Britain said it was withdrawing some staff and dependants from its embassy in Ukraine, hours after the United States said it was ordering diplomats’ family members to leave. US diplomats were being allowed to leave voluntarily.
Welcoming a series of deployments announced by alliance members in recent days, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO would “continue to take all necessary measures to protect and defend all allies, including by reinforcing the eastern part of the alliance.”
The move was a further sign that the West is bracing for Russia to attack its neighbour after massing an estimated 100,000 troops within reach of the Ukrainian border, although Russia denies any intention of invading.
Having engineered the crisis by surrounding Ukraine with forces from the north, east and south, Moscow is now citing the Western response as evidence to support its narrative that Russia is the target, not the instigator, of aggression. “As for specific actions, we see statements by the North Atlantic Alliance about reinforcement, pulling forces and resources to the eastern flank. All this leads to the fact that tensions are growing," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“This is not happening because of what we, Russia, are doing. This is all happening because of what Nato and the U.S. are doing and due to the information they are spreading.” He accused the West of “hysteria” and putting out information “laced with lies”.
The rouble hit a 14-month low against the dollar, and Russian stocks and bonds tumbled.
Russia has used its troop build-up to draw the West into discussions after presenting demands to redraw Europe's security map. It wants Nato never to admit Ukraine and to pull back troops and weapons from former Communist countries in eastern Europe that joined it after the Cold War.
Washington says those demands are non-starters but is ready to discuss other ideas on arms control, missile deployments and confidence-building measures.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU