The Ukraine conflict is coming to a head. The US moves more soldiers to Poland. EU employees should leave Ukraine. The news ticker.
- Ukraine crisis: Russia* is holding several military exercises in Ukraine’s neighborhood – states are calling on employees to leave Ukraine.
- USA*: US President Joe Biden* warns US nationals and directs clear words towards Vladimir Putin*.
- Germany and Chancellor Olaf Scholz* (SPD*) are still looking for a diplomatic solution. All information in our news ticker.
+++ 6.45 a.m .: The situation in the Ukraine conflict continues to deteriorate. According to media reports, Russia is on the verge of an invasion (see update from 6 a.m.). This is one of the reasons why a phone call between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden was scheduled for Saturday. “They will speak on Saturday morning,” a US government official said on Friday. Russia initially suggested a phone call for Monday, the spokesman said. “We then suggested Saturday, and they accepted it.” Saturday morning in Washington DC corresponds to noon or early afternoon in Germany.
Update from Saturday, February 12th, 2022, 6 a.m.: Russia will apparently invade Ukraine. Media reports suggest so. Accordingly, the US government expects an invasion in the coming week. This is reported by the news magazine Spiegel. The US medium PBS News Hour had previously reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had informed the military of his decision. Part of it were therefore concrete routes. According to the reports, next Wednesday (02/16/2022) is set as the time of the invasion.
Ukraine conflict: US sends thousands more soldiers to Poland
+++ 10.30 p.m .: In view of the Ukraine crisis, the USA is relocating around 3000 more soldiers to the NATO partner country Poland. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered this at the behest of President Joe Biden, the Department of Defense said in Washington on Friday. The soldiers of an airborne division from the state of North Carolina would leave in “the next few days” and should be on site early next week, it said.
The US government had only announced the transfer of around 2,000 soldiers to Europe at the beginning of February. Around 1,700 of these were also to be relocated to Poland, a neighboring country to Ukraine. Two-thirds of them have already arrived, the Pentagon said on Friday. The 300 additional soldiers who were transferred to Germany are already on site. “All in all, these 5,000 additional soldiers comprise a highly mobile and flexible force capable of multiple deployments,” the ministry said. It is about reassuring the eastern NATO partners and averting possible aggression, it said.
Ukraine conflict: EU and other countries are asking employees to leave the country
+++ 8.45 p.m .: Other countries have asked their nationals to leave the country immediately. “British nationals who are in Ukraine should leave now while commercial means are still available,” the UK Foreign Office said on Friday (02/11/2022), according to AFP.
Norway clarified the “serious and unpredictable situation” in Ukraine. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Friday US citizens should leave Ukraine within “the next 24 to 48 hours.”
+++ 8.10 p.m .: Employees of the European Union (EU) are currently being asked to leave Ukraine. On Friday (02/11/2022) a spokesman for the European External Action Service (EEAS) said: “Until further notice, non-essential staff have been given the opportunity to leave the country. We will continue to assess the situation in line with our duty of care towards our employees and in close consultation and coordination with EU Member States.”
Matti Maasikas, the EU ambassador to Ukraine, also called on employees to leave the country: “I call on all foreign employees, with the exception of key employees, to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.”
Ukraine conflict: US moves F-16 fighter jets to the region
+++ 18.45: The US Air Force moves F-16 fighter jets to Romania. An unknown number of F-16 fighter jets are being transferred from the US air force base in Spangdahlem in Rhineland-Palatinate to the Romanian base in Fetesti, AFP reports, citing the US Air Force. According to this, the jets are scheduled to land at the NATO base in Romania this Friday (02/11/2022). Less than 100 kilometers separate the base from the Black Sea. The reason for the transfer was the tension “caused by Russia’s military deployment near Ukraine”.
Together with Italian F-16 fighter jets, the jets formerly stationed in Germany will take part in NATO airspace surveillance, the US Air Force announced. Only on Thursday (February 10, 2022) US long-range B-52 bombers landed in Great Britain. According to the US Air Force, however, this was a “long-planned” exercise.
Ukraine conflict: Scholz, Biden and allies discuss strategy today
+++ 16:57: US President Joe Biden wants to talk to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and other allies about the Ukraine conflict today. At the switch at 5 p.m., EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Charles Michel, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend, the White House said.
The talks are said to be about “common concerns about Russia’s continued military build-up” on the Ukrainian border. The aim is to continue to exchange views on the “coordination of diplomacy and deterrence”.
Ukraine conflict: Spanish Air Force sends several fighter jets
+++ 3.43 p.m .: In view of the increasing tensions due to the Russian troop deployment on the borders with Ukraine, NATO member Spain relocated four combat aircraft to Bulgaria on Friday (February 11th, 2022). The Spanish Air Force announced that 130 soldiers as ground personnel had already arrived at the Graf Ignatievo air force base in NATO member Bulgaria in the past few days.
The Eurofighter aircraft are to increase airspace surveillance over the Black Sea and intercept Russian aircraft by the end of March, reports the newspaper La Vanguardia. The four fighter jets would then be relocated to the Baltic States.
US on Ukraine conflict: “Invasion could start at any time”
+++ 11.31 a.m .: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns of an escalation of the Ukraine conflict. According to him, a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin at any time. He continues to see very worrying signs of escalation from Russia, Blinken said at a press conference in Melbourne, Australia. This also includes the arrival of new armed forces at the Ukrainian border.
“As previously stated, we are in a window where an invasion could begin at any time.” This could also be during the 2022 Winter Olympics*, which are currently taking place in China*. The US State Department has already urged US citizens to leave Ukraine immediately.
+++ 10.20 a.m .: Before his trips to Kiev and Moscow early next week, Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that Russia would have to pay a high price if it attacked Ukraine. It is currently about preventing a war in Europe, he says in a speech in the Federal Council. “Everything serves to ensure that we achieve peace in Europe,” he adds, also with a view to the Normandy meeting on Thursday evening in Berlin. It is also important to strengthen Europe.
Ukraine conflict: Biden toughens tone on Russia
First report from Friday, February 11th, 2022, 8:17 a.m.: Washington – US President Joe Biden has tightened the tone again towards Russia in the Ukraine conflict. In a pre-recorded interview with the US broadcaster NBC, published on Thursday (February 11, 2022), Biden called on US citizens in Ukraine to leave the country “now”. Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus launched military maneuvers near the Ukrainian border on Thursday.
US President Joe Biden on Russia: “One of the largest armies in the world”
“We are dealing with one of the largest armies in the world here,” Biden said in the interview, referring to the Russian troop accumulation on the border with eastern Ukraine. “It’s a very different situation and things could get crazy fast.”
Biden warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin against harming US citizens. He hopes that if Putin is “foolish enough” to invade Ukraine, he is “smart enough not to do anything that negatively impacts American citizens.”
Ukraine conflict: Biden does not want to send troops under any circumstances
However, Biden reiterated that under no circumstances would he send US troops to Ukraine, including to rescue US citizens in the event of a Russian invasion. This would start “a world war,” he said, reiterating, “If Americans and Russians start shooting at each other, we’re in a whole different world.”
Citizens from the USA should leave Ukraine because of the “unpredictable” situation
Biden’s statements represent a renewed escalation after weeks of shuttle diplomacy between Washington, Moscow, Kiev and various European capitals. In January, the US government recommended that its citizens leave Ukraine independently because of the “unpredictable” situation on the ground. At the time, she had also ordered the departure of the relatives of US diplomats in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev and warned her citizens against traveling to Russia.
Russia and Ukraine conflict: Joe Biden calls on US citizens to leave Ukraine
According to Western sources, Russia has massed more than 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine in recent months. In Ukraine, as in the West, this is fueling fears of a possible large-scale attack by Russia on the neighboring country. Russia rejects any plans of attack. At the same time, the Kremlin says it feels threatened by NATO.
According to the US Defense Department, US Chief of Staff Mark Milley called his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Gulevich on Thursday to reduce the risk of “misjudgments” amid military maneuvers in the Brest region, near the Ukrainian border. According to the US, around 30,000 soldiers have been transferred from Russia to Belarus and several warships have been sent to the Black Sea.*
Ukraine conflict: Ukraine accuses Russia of exerting “psychological pressure”.
According to Russian statements, the exercise is about preparing the armed forces to repel “external aggression”. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of exerting “psychological pressure” on his country.
Russia had also sent six warships to naval exercises in the Black Sea and the neighboring Sea of Azov. Kiev condemned the presence of these ships as an “unprecedented” attempt to cut off Ukraine from both seas.
US: US military ground crew landed in UK
Meanwhile, the US military announced that long-range B-52 bombers, along with ground personnel, had landed at British Air Force Base Fairfield in the UK*. They should therefore take part in a “long” planned NATO exercise. In addition, according to information on Thursday, four destroyers were sent last month to NATO exercises in the area covered by the US Sixth Fleet, which also includes the Mediterranean Sea.
(df/nak/lm/tu/marv with dpa/AFP) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA .
Picture list: © MARCO LONGARI
