Mountain rain is about to blow all over the building.
Following the breakdown of negotiations between Russia and the United States, NATO and the OSCE last week on the "NATO Eastward Expansion and Ukraine Issue", the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border has taken a sharp turn for the worse, and now it has developed to the point of sword-rattling, with a great trend of "hair-trigger".
On Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Russia had begun to build up military forces on The Ukrainian border because it could no longer "tolerate" NATO's eastward expansion and "gradual invasion" of Ukraine. He stressed that the recent actions of the US military have made Russia feel that its national security is being "threatened" and that once NATO continues to deploy in Ukraine, Russia will be ready to fight back.
On the 18th, the US media said in the report that Russia has begun to withdraw diplomatic personnel from Ukraine, or plans the next move.
The United States-led NATO countries have also made a lot of moves recently, with the United Kingdom and the United States saying that they have begun to provide weapons support to Ukraine, and Canada has also sent a combat detachment to Ukraine. Foreign media quoted informed sources on the 18th to report that British Foreign Ministry officials have been told to be ready to enter "crisis mode" at any time. The White House also said on the same day that the United States has raised the so-called threat assessment that Russia may "launch an offensive" against Ukraine.
↑ After the collapse of negotiations at three meetings last week, the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border took a sharp turn for the worse.
According to the latest news from foreign media on the 18th, this Friday (21st), US Secretary of State Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov will meet in Geneva to make efforts to ease the current situation. A senior State Department official said the meeting "shows that diplomacy may not be dead."
Western countries "add fuel to the fire": Britain, the United States and Canada have "transported troops" to Ukraine
On the 17th, the United States and the United Kingdom both promised to provide weapons support to Ukraine, once again "fueling the situation and adding fuel to the fire."
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on the same day that the United Kingdom has begun to provide light anti-tank weapon systems to Ukraine, the first batch of systems have been delivered on the 17th, and a small number of British military personnel will also provide corresponding short-term training to the Ukrainian side.
↑ The United Kingdom supplies Ukraine with a light anti-tank defensive weapon system.
On the 17th, a team composed of us senators from both parties visited Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and promised to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, which may include javelin anti-tank missiles, stinger missiles, small arms and ships. On the 18th, the Pentagon said that as part of U.S. military assistance, Ukraine will receive "new" fighter jets, including 5 Mi-17 helicopter gunships.
Foreign media reported on the 18th that the Biden administration is weighing a new "plan", including providing more weapons to Ukraine to resist Russia's "invasion". In addition, the United States is also assessing the possibility of enhancing the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian army, and a senior U.S. official revealed that it may provide additional ammunition, mortars, javelin anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft missile systems to the Ukrainian army.
In addition, according to foreign media news on the 18th, the Canadian Special Operations Regiment has sent a small detachment to Ukraine. Canada said the force's mission was to help Canadian diplomats retreat when a Russian-Ukrainian conflict could occur. However, NATO said that Canada's troop dispatch was made by NATO to help Ukraine prevent the "invasion" of the Russian army.
It is also reported that before meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, US Secretary of State Blinken will meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Kureba on the 19th, and then meet with German Foreign Minister Berberk in Berlin and attend the "Transatlantic Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" meeting held by the United States, Britain, France and Germany. A U.S. State Department official revealed that the "quadripartite meeting" will focus on "preparing Russia for the huge consequences and economic costs."
Russia will conduct joint military exercises with Belarus on the Ukrainian border to exercise "defend against external attacks"
Previously, in response to the West's constant exaggeration of Russia's intention to "invade" Ukraine by massing heavy troops on the Russian-Ukrainian border, the Russian side has been firmly denying it, emphasizing that the deterioration of the situation is due to NATO's continuous erosion of Russia's security space, and demanding that NATO prohibit Ukraine from joining NATO and stop eastward expansion.
In the face of various provocations by the West in recent days, Russia has also frequently made moves. On the 17th, the Russian army conducted a tactical exercise in the Rostov region near the Russian-Ukrainian border. On the 18th, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said that in response to the current tension, Russia will garrison troops near the Ukrainian border.
According to Xinhua News Agency on the 19th, Russian and Belarusian officials said on the 18th that the two countries are scheduled to hold a joint military exercise code-named "Ally Determination" in the western part of Belarus bordering Poland and Lithuania and the southern region bordering Ukraine next month to practice "resisting external attacks."
↑ On January 18, Minsk, Belarus, Russian army equipment including tanks and short-range ballistic missiles has arrived on the border between Belarus and Ukraine.
According to the Belarusian side, the joint military exercise will be divided into two stages. In the first phase, troops were rapidly redeployed and established to threatened areas by 9 February to assess the state of combat readiness. The second phase, joint "Alliance Determination-2022" exercise, took place from February 10 to 20, which mainly focused on "destroying illegal armed groups, sabotage groups and reconnaissance groups of the enemy."
Russian troops and equipment began to arrive in Belarus on the 17th, and according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the temporary military exercise was to deal with the growing military threat from neighboring countries.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has previously stressed that Russia will not invade Ukraine and will not formulate policies based on the assumption of war. "We don't make policies based on 'what if that happens,' which sounds like something our Western counterparts would do, and they basically threaten to impose sanctions on Russia at every opportunity," he said. ”
According to US media reports on the 17th, Russia has begun to "empty" the Russian embassy in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, at the end of December last year. According to a senior Ukrainian security official, on January 5, the wife and children of Russian diplomats and 18 other people boarded the bus and returned to Moscow in 15 hours by car. In the following days, about 30 more people were evacuated from the Embassy in Kiev and the consulate in Lviv in western Ukraine.
The Ukrainian security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said diplomats at two other Russian consulates were also told to be ready to leave Ukraine at any time.
On Tuesday (18th), the Russian Foreign Ministry said that despite the threats to Russian diplomats and their families, the Russian Embassy in Kiev is still functioning normally.
Red Star News reporter Xu Huan
Edited by Zhang Xun
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