Diplomatic efforts to defuse the Ukraine crisis continue. The US accuses Russia of creating a pretext for an invasion.
- In the conflict between Russia* and Ukraine, diplomatic efforts to prevent aggression have been going on for weeks. Now the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan * turns on as a mediator.
- The “security guarantees” demanded by NATO from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin* were rejected in a letter. The USA* move more troops to Europe.
- All information on the situation in Ukraine and the tensions with Russia in our live ticker.
+++ 8:54 p.m .: According to the United States, Russia is considering several options to create a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine. The production of a propaganda video for which an attack would be staged is one possibility, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in Washington on Thursday (February 3, 2022), citing intelligence information.
The content of the film would be the aftermath of an explosion and equipment from Ukraine or allied nations would be shown. Russia wanted to cause outrage. Such a video could give Vladimir Putin “the spark he needs to initiate and justify military action against Ukraine,” Kirby said.
Ukraine conflict: US fears mission
“We don’t know for sure that this is the path they will take, but we do know that this is an option that is being considered,” Deputy US National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer told MSNBC. The US went public with these allegations to dissuade Russia from actually implementing such plans, the Reuters news agency quoted a senior US government official as saying.
The United States has long warned of a Russian false flag operation. Moscow has always denied such allegations in the past.
+++ 19.16 p.m .: Joint military exercises between Russia and Belarus and the potential increase in the Russian troop presence near the Belarusian border with Ukraine to up to 30,000 soldiers are, according to the US government, “a clear escalating, not de-escalating act”. The events are a factor in evaluating how the United States should support its NATO partners in the region, said Presidential Office spokeswoman Jen Psaki, according to information from the Reuters news agency.
Ukraine conflict: Erdogan offers to mediate between Ukraine and Russia
+++ 5.12 p.m .: The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who traveled to Kiev on Thursday (03.02.2022), has now also become involved in the efforts to defuse the Ukraine conflict. There, Erdogan offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia. However, it is questionable whether the Russian government under President Vladimir Putin will respond to the offer from Turkey*.
Turkey is a key ally of Kiev as a NATO member that also supports Ukraine’s possible accession. At the same time, Erdogan maintains close ties with Putin, even though their countries are on different sides in the Syrian conflict, for example. Ukraine is also a sensitive issue in bilateral relations. Turkey condemned Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Most recently, Turkish deliveries of combat drones to Ukraine caused tensions between Turkey and Russia.
Ukraine conflict: Finland is also concerned about a possible provocation by Russia
Meanwhile, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has assured Finland that she will stand by the EU country in the ongoing crisis. As an EU member, Finland has always shown solidarity and can also count on the full solidarity of the EU, said von der Leyen after a meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, also on Thursday in Helsinki. That is what characterizes the European Union.
The background to this assurance is Finland’s fear of becoming the target of a possible provocation by Russia. The country is the EU member with the longest national border with Russia. And while the Finns are not themselves a member of NATO, they are nonetheless closely linked to the military alliance. Marin said the only way to find peaceful solutions is to engage in dialogue: “We all want Russia to de-escalate the situation and we want to find peaceful ways out of the situation.”
Ukraine conflict: Thousands of signatures against aggression – glimmer of hope in Kiev
Update from Thursday, February 3rd, 2022, 1:20 p.m .: Thousands of members and supporters of an association of intellectuals and academics in Russia have petitioned the Russian government to initiate de-escalating measures in the Ukraine conflict and thus end an “immoral, irresponsible and criminal “To prevent war. This was reported by the government-critical news portal The Moscow Times.
The petition was formulated by over 100 prominent personalities who campaign for human rights, science, the media and politics in Russia – so far they have received support in the form of 3,000 signatures. The petition accuses the government of deceiving the people of Russia. “The idea of a holy war against the West” stands in the way of the country’s development and the standard of living of its people: “The question of the price is not discussed, but it is the Russian people who ultimately have to pay the price – one high and bloody price,” the appeal reads.
Russia is expanding troops – glimmer of hope in Ukraine
First report from Thursday, February 3rd, 2022, 11.40 a.m .: Kiev – The close partnership between Russia and China gives observers hope that in the ongoing Ukraine crisis during the Winter Olympics * there will initially be no attack on Ukraine. Nevertheless, more Russian military forces are apparently still being transferred to the border with Ukraine.
As the US television channel CNN reports, current satellite images indicate that troop movements are still taking place in western Russia, in the Crimea region and in Belarus. According to the satellite operator Maxar Technologies, which supplies and evaluates images, numerous military bases along the Ukrainian border have been massively expanded.
Crisis with Russia: Troop movements now also on the Belarus-Ukraine border
This development indicates that the Russian military has increased its “general preparedness level”. When comparing the recordings from September and January, a visible increase in activity can be observed using the example of a military camp in the Crimean settlement of Nowooserne. Numerous tents have recently been added to the previous infrastructure.
The US broadcaster reports that more and more Russian military have also recently been stationed in the common neighboring country of Belarus. Both the Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries expressed their reassurance about the increase in troops on the Belarus-Ukraine border: The troop movement is for a joint military exercise planned for February.
Partnership between Russia and China: Experts see reason for relaxation in Ukraine crisis
Meanwhile, the news portal Newsweek.com reports that experts and insiders because of the Winter Olympics in China* assume for the time being that there would be no aggression from Russia towards Ukraine in the coming weeks. The reason for this is the close partnership between Russia under President Vladimir Putin and China under President Xi Jinping.
For example, former secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksandr Danylyuk, told Newsweek that an attack on Ukraine during the Olympics could be seen by China as a diplomatic affront. The background is that in 2008 during the Summer Olympics in Beijing * the Caucasus war between Russia and Georgia had already escalated. According to Danylyuk, Russia cannot afford to “screw up Xi Jinping’s show a second time”.
Ukraine crisis: US sends troops to Europe, Russia condemns transfer as “destructive”
Last week, the US and NATO responded in writing to Russian demands for “security guarantees”. In the letters, Washington and NATO rejected a NATO waiver demanded by Putin for further eastward expansion and the withdrawal of US weapons from states in the former Soviet sphere of influence.
The Pentagon also announced on Wednesday that the US plans to deploy thousands of additional soldiers to Europe. The majority of 2,000 forces are to be relocated from the Fort Bragg base in the state of North Carolina to Poland, but 300 of them will also go to Germany. 1000 US soldiers currently stationed in Vilseck, Bavaria, will be sent to Romania. Moscow condemned the posting as “destructive”. Chancellor Olaf Scholz* (SPD*) announced that he would like to travel to Moscow “soon”. (ska/dpa/AFP/rtr) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
Rubriklistenbild: © picture alliance/dpa/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP
