Antony Blinken Secretary of State announced Monday the U.S. would move U.S. diplomatic staff out of Kyiv’s U.S. Embassy and place them in Lviv. The announcement came amid fears that an invasion by Russia might occur at any time.
This move will place U.S. diplomats to the south where Putin amasses thousands of troops in Belarus, and hundreds of miles away from the U.S. claim that Putin has deployed a force well exceeding 100,000 troops.
Blinken explained that this was due to the ‘dramatic acceleration’ in Russian force buildup, which continued into the weekend.
Blinken declared that the safety and security in America is his highest priority. He also stated that the Polish border was only 50 miles away.
“My team, and I continually review the security situation in order to identify when prudent decisions should be made. We are currently relocating temporarily our Embassy operations to Ukraine from the Embassy in Kyiv, to Lviv because of the rapid increase in Russian forces. We will continue to work with the Ukrainian government in coordination of diplomatic engagement in Ukraine. Our diplomatic efforts are intensifying to resolve the crisis.
Blinken declared that “these prudent precautions do not in any way diminish our support or commitment to Ukraine.”
As a precaution, diplomats had ordered destruction of computer workstations and computer networking equipment as well as taking down the embassy phone system, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal.
Biden spoke with Boris Johnson on Monday as part of a multilateral scramble to prevent a Russian invasion Ukraine. U.S. officials fear that it may happen any moment.
Johnson stated Monday that he would speak to “various leaders,” including Joe Biden very soon. Biden spoke Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a day after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin – which still left the administration guessing on if and whether Putin would invade Ukraine.
Jake Sullivan, White House National security Advisor has given briefings to senators and members of Congress about his assessment of the tense environment.
Sources say that the U.S. will provide $1 billion of sovereign loan guarantees for Ukraine amid pressure from Congress. Fox News.
Officials from the Biden Administration confirmed that this idea was under consideration. DailyMail.com received confirmation from an administration official that it was under consideration as part the extra macroeconomic support being explored to assist Ukraine’s economy in light of Russia’s growing military might.
The House isn’t in session and members received an unclassified phone briefing. Sens. will be receiving a classified briefing Monday morning.
John Kirby, Pentagon spokesmen said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “could move without little or no warning.” T-72B3 Main Battle Tanks from the Russian Army participate in a military drill at St. Petersburg.
Monday’s announcement by the U.S. was that they were moving personnel from Kiev’s embassy, while Russia continues military exercises
In this handout photo, February 14, 2002, you can see Russian soldiers driving tanks in military exercises in Russia’s Leningrad Region.
U.S. officials maintain that they believe Putin is still unsure if he will invade.
A handout video taken by the Russian Defense Ministry and released on February 14, 2022 shows a Su-30SM fighter aircraft during joint exercises with the armed forces Russia-Belarus as part inspection of the Union State’s Response Force. The firing range is near Brest.
John Kirby, Pentagon spokesperson, stated Monday that “we are working to ensure the security of our troops.” For a long time, I have been saying that any military action could be taken at any moment.
Kirby stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin could have moved with very little or no warning.
He stated, “It definitely could happen prior to the Olympics’ end. Maybe even this week.”
A readout of Biden-Johnson’s call was provided by 10 Downing St. The two leaders “agreed that there remained an important window for diplomacy, and for Russia to withdraw from its threats toward Ukraine.”
“The statement said that the leaders stressed the fact that Russia’s continued intrusion into Ukraine would lead to a prolonged crisis and cause great damage to both Russia’s reputation as well as the rest of the world.
They agreed to maintain unity in face of Russian threats and to impose a substantial package of sanctions should Russian aggression escalate. The European nations must also reduce their dependency on Russian gas. It is a step that would most directly harm Russia’s strategic goals, it stated.
According to a report, Biden won’t visit Ukraine soon despite Zelensky asking for him to do so amid the looming threat from Russia.
According to a top Ukrainian official, Zelensky requested Biden visit Ukraine. But U.S. officials say it is highly unlikely.
Today, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived at Kyiv to discuss crisis with Zelensky. On Monday, he flew to Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin.
Scholz visited the U.S. this month to meet with Biden.
Zelensky has renewed his call for Washington’s financial and military support of Kyiv, after the arrival of hundreds of millions in U.S. defense and military equipment in Ukraine in the past two months.
On Sunday, the latest shipment reached Kyiv’s Boryspil International airport.
Biden and Zelensky had a nearly one-hour telephone conversation on Sunday. There, the U.S. pledged swift and decisive actions if Russia took further steps toward invading.
Ukraine demanded a meeting with Russia and other members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the following 48 hours. This was to discuss Russia’s recent military buildup.
Dmytro Kuleba the Ukrainian Foreign Minister stated that Moscow has not replied to Kyiv who invoked part of Vienna Document (a series of security agreements) in order to ask Moscow about its military activities.
We now move on to the next stage. We request a meeting with Russia and all participating states within 48 hours to discuss its reinforcement & redeployment along our border & in temporarily occupied Crimea,’ Kuleba tweeted.
He stated that Russia must be serious about addressing the vulnerability of security within the OSCE area. Russia must also fulfill its promise to transparency regarding military operations in order to reduce tensions and increase security for everyone.
Russian state TV started a propaganda drive, declaring that Ukrainian nationalists would massacre Russians living in Russia’s east, while President Vladimir Putin keeps advancing troops to the Ukraine border.
This could prove to be Putin’s last step before he invades. U.S. intelligence has warned that the Kremlin may have created video propaganda using fake footage depicting the genocide against Russian-speakers.
Dmitry Kiselyov, a prominent state propagandist often known as ‘Putin’s mouthpiece’, used his Sunday news show to peddle unsubstantiated claims that Ukraine has ‘tortured and savagely killed’ thousands of civilians in the Donbass region.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian President (right), and Olaf Scholz the German Chancellor met Monday in Kyiv at Mariinskyi Palace. Scholz was visiting Ukraine in the context of Western diplomacy to deflect Russian aggression.
Scholtz visits Monday, before he travels to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin. There is a report that suggests President Joe Biden may not accept Zelensky’s request for him to visit Ukraine.
The evacuation of Ukraine has been ordered for most non-critical U.S. employees. All U.S. citizens living there are also being advised. On Monday, the Embassy of Kyiv was pictured as Lviv. Instead, diplomatic staff are working in Lviv.
Vladimir Putin was once again anxious and covid as he used a long table to maintain his distance when he met Sergei Shoigu, his Defense Minister in Moscow.
Kirby spoke of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that it was possible for him to move without warning.
A segment entitled “They are preparing for killing” featured an interview of a separatist fighter in that region. He warned that Ukrainian nationalists had threatened to ‘kill, butcher, you all’ and hang your children on wires.
This tactic is a mirror of Russian propaganda that was spread before the 2014 invasion of Ukraine. It was used by Kremlin as a justification for military action on the ground of protecting ethnic Russians in Ukraine.
At the moment, there is 148,000 Russian troops at the border – supported by thousands upon thousands of tanks. Washington warned about an imminent invasion.
With Scholz’s visits to Moscow and Kyiv, diplomatic efforts are being made to avoid war. Scholz is expected to provide more financial support to Ukraine, and demand that Russia “immediately deescalate” its troop buildup at the border.
The talks have not been fruitful as Moscow insists that Ukraine be banned from NATO membership. Russia was quick to take advantage of the positive steps made by Russia to counter Ukraine’s ambassador in the UK.
According to new research, Russia may still openly pursue a diplomatic route over a military path, even though there are warnings about invasion coming in the next days.
According to PA Media, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov instructed Putin to keep talks with the West regarding Moscow’s security needs.
Lavrov suggested during a meeting with Putin that the Kremlin should maintain a dialogue with the U.S. and its allies even though they have so far rejected Russia’s main security demands – including barring Ukraine from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance.
Moscow demands that NATO guarantees it will stop weapons deliveries to Ukraine, and pull its forces out of Eastern Europe.
Lavrov pointed out that, even though America and its allies flatly refused those demands, Washington offered dialogue to limit missile deployments in Europe and restrictions on military drills, and other confidence-building steps.
Putin has not yet provided Russia with a formal response, but Lavrov asked if continuing diplomatic efforts made any sense. Lavrov said that the possibilities of talks were ‘far from exhausted’, and offered to resume negotiations
‘[Talks]It’s impossible to go on forever, but I suggest that we continue expanding them in this stage,” Lavrov stated.
The Russian military chief, warning the navy that any foreign ships entering their territorial waters is subject to firing on. This was amid one of the worst standoffs in East-West relations since the Cold War.
A Russian tank fires its main gun during drills that took place in Leningrad near the Baltic Sea. The Russians continue sabre-rattling amid worries Putin wants to invade Ukraine
In Russia, T-72 Russian tanks participated in military drills at Leningrad on Sunday amid concerns that an invasion of Ukraine might be coming as early as Wednesday
Russian tanks take part in drills within the Leningrad Region, while Moscow continues to threaten Ukraine with military exercises
Ukrainian troops take part in tank training in the Kharkiv region, close to the border with Russia, last week
Russian attack submarine Rostov-on-Don is pictured sailing into the Black Sea via the Bosphorus strait, with Turkey’s Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia Mosque pictured in the background
Pictured today, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives in Kiev for talks with his Ukrainian counterpart. He then heads to Moscow during a new round of diplomacy
Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov made the threat Monday. This was two days after Moscow had complained about an American submarine entering its waters close to the Kuril Islands, in the eastern Pacific.
After being given appropriate measures, the Kremlin stated that the submarine ignored repeated warnings not to depart and turned back after having been instructed.
Gadzhimagomedov answered a question about whether Russia’s navy is ready to strike at such ships. However, the request would have to be made “at the highest levels.”
Russia has taken advantage of the warnings given to it to claim that both the USA and its ally Britain are spreading propaganda to incite war in Ukraine.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry said Monday that “What we currently see is pure propaganda.”
“Aggressive rhetoric provides cover for arms delivery to Ukraine, deployment of military instructors, holding of Nato Military Exercises near Russia’s Borders, and creation by Western countries of offensive combined arm’s infrastructure.
She said, “What America and Britain are doing now is classic war propaganda.”
These activities were prohibited in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was adopted by UN General Assembly 1966.
At the height of Cold War, the Covenant was signed with the goal of ‘not only protecting human rights,… but leading humanity out of the abyss towards that which the military rhetoric from Nato countries has pushed it in these years’.
“The Soviet Union and later Russia, along with dozens of states around the world who understand the dangers that war propaganda can pose, have opted to reject this dangerous practice.
‘But neither Washington nor London deprives itself of the opportunity to hold a match to a haystack…
“The United States and the UK took from their pockets a tool they had kept safe for half a century.
“And now, they’re waving it like a trinket, supporting this managed hysteria via the CNN, Bloomberg media holdings, and British tabloids. This is influencing public opinion within their respective countries.
Russia denied any intentions to attack. But, Russia continues to ship hardware across border zones. It also keeps up military drills and sabre-rattling that seem to intimidate its neighbour.
Images showed that Putin moved his attack helicopters towards the border on Sunday. This was a major step, as it is believed that aerial power is one of his last options in case an invasion occurs.
Russian forces also published new videos and images of tanks being trained in Leningrad, near the Baltic Sea.
In social media posts, military equipment was captured in Kursk, Belgorod and Voronezh, as well as Liptsek.
Joint patrols were also conducted by the Russian and Belarusian Su-30SMs.
This week also saw a new round of talks among European leaders to try and prevent an attack. However, there is little hope for any progress.
Putin continues to insist that Ukraine is banned from joining NATO, and that ex-Soviet countries be withdrawn from NATO – something that the alliance categorically rejected.
Valentyna Konstantynovska, 79, takes part in a training session organised by members of Ukraine’s national guard for civilians in Mariupol – a Black Sea port city that is close to the frontlines with Russia
During a session for civilians organized by the Ukrainian national guard, a child learns how to load and unload bullets using an AK-47 magazine.
A member of Ukraine’s Special Forces Unit Azov, part of the National Guard, shows a woman how to aim an AK-47 rifle while laying down during a training session in the city of Mariupol
During training organized by Ukraine’s National Guard units in Mariupol (near the frontlines of Russia), a woman fires an AK-47 rifle.
During training exercises at Murmansk (in the north), on February 10, Russian Marine Corps troops fired an Igla antiaircraft rocket launcher.
Instead, NATO and America have outlined other areas (including arms control treaties) where they would be willing to negotiate. However, these are dismissed as secondary concerns by the Kremlin.
Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain, suggested Monday morning that Ukraine could be flexible about its aim of joining NATO, if this meant the avoidance of a conflict.
But his remark was quickly shot down by Sergii Nykyforov – spokesman for President Volodymyr Zelensky – who said joining the alliance remains the government’s ‘absolute priority’.
Reuters was told by Mr Nykyforov that this course is more than reflected in the Constitution. It is the consent of all the authorities as well as society.
‘Mr. Ambassador used the phrase ‘flexibility’. It’s worthwhile to give him an opportunity to tell us what he was thinking.
Boris Johnson has been preparing to take a whistle-stop European tour this week. He is leading efforts to prevent a conflict, and to assure eastern allies of western Europe that there will not be any Russian aggression.
The Prime Minister is not yet clear on his itinerary, but it is believed he will be heading to the Nordic and Baltic Countries.
Although the Baltics lie hundreds of miles away from Ukraine, leaders of Estonia and Latvia have long worried that Putin might also attempt to attack them, in order to bring them under his control.
A Ukrainian invasion would only increase these fears, and nearly certainly prompt NATO to provide more military hardware for the region.
The alliance is made up of all three countries and the protections provided by it include the mutual defense pledge, which stipulates that any attack against one member can be considered as an attack upon the entire group.
Olaf Scholz from Germany, the German Chancellor, was in Kiev this morning before meeting with Moscow to avoid war.
According to sources, Scholz may discuss financial support for Ukraine, in order to assist with an invasion. But, it is not likely to offer military assistance.
This, despite Germany’s deployment of some 70 troops today to Lithuania. It is part of an increase in forces in that region which is near Russia.
The German chancellor will be monitored closely for signs that he may not follow the messages of Washington and NATO allies.
Moscow’s response to the visit of Putin will be also scrutinised, as other foreign leaders have made similar visits to ridicule and humiliate Moscow.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president is seen at his desk Sunday as his government insists that there are no indications of a Russian invasion even though US warnings have been made.
Ukrainian troops examine a shipment American-made Humvee trucks that was shipped from Lithuania in military aid to Russia.
An American Osprey aircraft is pictured landing at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in Poland, close to the border with Ukraine
An American C-17A military transport plane is pictured at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in Poland, as the US sends reinforcements to its NATO ally amid fears Russia could be about to attack Ukraine
In order to stop Russia from attacking Ukraine, Ukrainian soldiers fire a Javelin antitank missile that was sent by America to them.
Liz Truss traveled to Moscow last week and met Sergei Lavrov (Foreign Secretary). She compared talking to her with speaking with someone who is deaf during a press conference.
Lavrov claimed she failed to mention bilateral relations at the summit. Sources claim that Lavrov fed her ‘gotcha’ questions to demonstrate a lack in geographical knowledge.
Emmanuel Macron from France visited Moscow last Wednesday, as well. He was enthusiastic about the promises he made to Putin.
Elysee officials went as far to claim that Macron managed to convince Putin to stop military drills at the border. The Kremlin rebutted the assertion.
Each day, drills take place in the region and tens to thousands of troops have moved along with warships or attack helicopters into the area.
James Heappey, Defence Minister said that the Russian presence at the border makes it possible for Vladimir Putin to give orders and the missiles and bombs could be reaching targets in a matter of minutes.
As tension rises in the interview, Mr Heappey stated that it was possible to avoid a conflict but that they are closer to war than ever before.
This grim assessment comes as Boris Johnson is about to start a diplomatic blitz in Europe with a whistlestop tour. Johnson warns that the situation is at an ‘important juncture.
The Tories are urging the West not to back down, comparing the situation with Moscow to the Cuban Missile Crisis. This is despite calls to freeze Russian financial markets.
As more than 130,000 Russian troops gathered at Ukraine’s borders, Britain promised ‘further Economic Support to Ukraine’ yesterday.
German mobile Howitzers land in Lithuania to try and reassure NATO Allies against Russian aggression
Pictured here are German troops arriving in Lithuania as part of the NATO new deployment. This is amid tension with Russia.
Pictured in Lithuania is German mobile howitzer artillery. They were deployed under NATO obligations.
Pictured is Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, boarding an airplane out of Germany after visiting Kiev and Moscow to try to avoid war in Eastern Europe.
To prepare for the NATO response to an attack on Ukrainian sovereignty, Ben Wallace, Defence Secretary will be in Brussels with his Nato counterparts.
Concerns that Russia sanctions might disrupt oil exports to a country with a large oil production, led to new seven-year highs in oil prices.
Investors sought safety and the dollar reached its highest level in two weeks. Russian and Ukrainian bond shares fell sharply.
Western countries, who rely on Russia heavily for their energy supply, including gas and other raw materials, could see sanctions increase.
European banks are particularly concerned about Russia being excluded from SWIFT’s global payment system. This would stop Russian debt repayments.
Boeing Co., an American aircraft manufacturer, purchases a large amount of titanium used in airframes and other components from Russia’s VSMPO AVISMA. But it said that it had confidence that it would be able to use the supply chain without any interruptions.
Scholz could get a cool reception from Kyiv. This city has long resented Russia’s Nord Stream 2 project, which allows Russia to bypass Ukraine to obtain its gas exports to Germany. Germany has been irritated at Germany’s refusal to sell weapons to other NATO countries.
Moscow said that it was expecting Putin to meet Scholz Tuesday in talks about Ukraine, Russia’s security guarantees and Nord Stream 2, currently awaiting European Union approval.
Jake Sullivan, U.S. President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser said Sunday that an invasion could occur ‘anyday now.’ However, officials of the United States said they were unable to confirm reports that U.S. intelligence suggested it would happen on Wednesday.
Sullivan stated that the United States will also defend every inch of NATO-controlled territory… and Russia fully comprehends this message.
In a telephone conversation on Saturday, Biden informed Putin that any attack against Moscow would result in its isolation and harm.
Tensions are increasing and airlines have been cancelling flights to Ukraine, with others saying they’re ‘closely following’ the situation.
Dutch carrier KLM cancelled all domestic flights from and to the country. Germany’s Lufthansa, however, stated flights would be continued for now. However they are currently being reviewed.
The Netherlands is especially sensitive to potential dangers from flights over possible war zones following the 2014 shooting-down of MH17 over Eastern Ukraine.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 103 was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. It was being hit by an air-to-surface missile launched by Russian-backed separatists mistaking it for a Ukrainian plane.
Two thirds of the 298 passengers onboard were Dutch, and all were killed.