Russia Ukraine Crisis News: Ukrainian Army soldiers pose for a photo as they gather to celebrate a Day of Unity in Odessa, Ukraine. (AP)Russia Ukraine Crisis Live: 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.”
Multiple explosions were heard on Saturday morning in the north of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, news agency Reuters reported citing a witness. The origin of the explosions was not clear. There was no immediate comment from separatist authorities or from Kyiv.
The Ukrainian military said a soldier was killed in shelling by pro-Russian separatists on Saturday morning in east Ukraine, where violence this week in a long-running conflict has stirred concern it could be the triggger for Russian military action. US President Joe Biden said Friday he is convinced that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine in the coming days. An estimated 40% to 50% of Russian ground forces deployed in the vicinity of the Ukrainian border have moved into attack positions nearer the border, said a US defense official, pointing this out as a further indication that the Russians are preparing for a potential invasion. The US now estimates that Russia probably has amassed between 1,69,000 and 1,90,000 personnel in and 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)
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.
Russian-backed separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine declared a full military mobilisation Saturday, a day after ordering women and children to evacuate to southern Russia because of what they said was the threat of conflict.
Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said in a video statement that he had signed a decree on mobilisation and called on men "able to hold a weapon in their hands" to come to military commissariats.
Another separatist leader, Leonid Pasechnik, signed a similar decree for the Luhansk People's Republic shortly afterwards. Separatist authorities Friday announced plans to evacuate around 7,00,000 people, citing fears of an imminent attack by Ukrainian forces - an accusation Kyiv flatly denied. (Reuters)
Satellite imagery taken this week shows military activity in multiple locations across Belarus, the annexed Crimea region of Ukraine and western Russia near Ukraine’s border.
The Ukrainian military said it had recorded 12 ceasefire violations by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine Saturday morning after 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 on its Facebook page.
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. (Reuters)
Ukraine's top security official Oleksiy Danilov accused Russia of staging provocations in eastern Ukraine to try to provoke Ukraine's military to respond, but added that Ukraine would stick to peaceful ways to defuse the crisis.
In a joint briefing, Minister for Integration of the Temporary Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk said Russia was trying to force Ukraine into making concessions. Danilov said Ukraine had no plans to liberate separatist-held territories by force, adding that a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine was unlikely. (Reuters)
The US has begun deploying 5,000 troops to Poland and Romania. The Biden administration announced Friday it has approved a USD 6 billion sale of 250 Abrams battle tanks and related equipment to Poland.
Britain is sending hundreds of soldiers to Poland and offering more warships and planes. It also is doubling the number of personnel in Estonia and sending tanks and armoured fighting vehicles.
Germany, Norway and the Netherlands are sending additional troops to Lithuania. The Dutch government also is sending to Ukraine 100 sniper rifles, combat helmets and body armour, two mine detection robots and weapon-detection radar systems. (AP)
Russia Saturday rejected US allegations that it was responsible for cyberattacks on Ukrainian banking and government websites as baseless, the Russian embassy in the United States said on Twitter.
US Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger said Friday that Russian military intelligence was behind the recent spate of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that briefly knocked Ukrainian banking and government websites offline. (Reuters)