Does Biden want to cry wolf? It’s been several weeks that he keeps yelling about Russia attacking the Ukraine. Will it happen or not?
Russia is “poised to strike” Ukraine, the US said Saturday amid increasingly frantic warnings from the West about a possible invasion, reports of shelling and an uptick in violence in the region.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who met with Baltic ministers in Vilnius, Lithuania, said Russian forces were beginning to “uncoil and move closer” to the Ukraine border, as President Vladimir Putin launched previously announced drills of Russia’s strategic nuclear missile forces.
“We hope he steps back from the brink of conflict,” Austin said of Putin at a news conference.
The Kremlin said Russia successfully test-launched hypersonic and cruise missiles, including nuclear submarines and Tu-95 bombers, at sea and land-based targets during the exercises earlier Saturday.
Putin watched video of the drills taking place in real-time with the president of neighboring Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, from what the Kremlin described as a “situation center.”
While Austin said an invasion was not inevitable, he also stated the nuclear exercises were increasing the world’s concerns.
“When you layer on top of that a very sophisticated exercise with strategic nuclear forces, that makes things complicated to the degree that you could have an accident or a mistake,” Austin said.
It came as top Ukrainian military officials said they came under a shelling attack during a tour of the front in separatist-held eastern Ukraine, forcing them to briefly seek cover in a bomb shelter. The tour included a group of international journalists.
Ukraine and Russian-back rebels each accused the other of escalation, with Russia saying they were investigating at least two shells fired from a government-held part of eastern Ukraine, that they claim landed across the border.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba dismissed the Russian shelling claim as “a fake statement.”
Ukraine’s military added that shelling killed two soldiers and injured four early Saturday in the government-held part of the Donetsk region – and that separatists were putting artillery in residential areas to try and provoke a response in collaboration with Russia’s special services.
“The purpose of these provocations will, of course, be to accuse Ukraine of further escalation,” the military said in a statement.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, vowed “to protect our beautiful land” no matter what amid the rising tensions and called on Putin to meet with him to seek a resolution.
“I don’t know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, so I am proposing a meeting,” Zelenskiy said. “Ukraine will continue to follow only the diplomatic path for the sake of a peaceful settlement.”
There was no immediate response from Russia.
Zelenskiy claims that his country was “not panicking,” despite the uptick in shelling incidents over the last few days.
“We’re very consistent that we are not responding to any provocations,” he said. “Provocations are, indeed, very dangerous,” Zelenskiy added. “One shelling, one cannon fire can lead to war.”
He also pleaded with Western leaders to make any sanctions on Russia public before a potential invasion.
“We don’t need your sanctions after the bombardment will happen and after our country will be fired at or after we will have no borders, or after we will have no economy … Why would we need those sanctions then?” Zelenskiy said.
During a meeting with Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the security conference, Vice President Kamala Harris said the U.S. was committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“Let me be clear, I can say with absolute certainty: If Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States, together with our allies and partners, will impose significant and unprecedented economic costs,” Harris said.
The VP told Zelenskiy that “any threat to your country we take seriously” and warned Russia would face “unprecedented” financial costs if it attacked Ukraine.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is also in Munich, told reporters that diplomacy was “still alive in all of this… until the last second.”
“Let’s hope that sanity prevails,” she added.
Meanwhile, foreign ministers from the G7 group said they saw no evidence Russia was reducing its military activity near Ukraine’s borders and they remain “gravely concerned” about the impending situation.
“We call on Russia to choose the path of diplomacy, to de-escalate tensions, to substantively withdraw military forces from the proximity of Ukraine’s borders and to fully abide by international commitments,” the countries said in a joint statement released by Britain’s foreign ministry.
As fears that a war could start within days mounted, NATO temporarily closed its office in Kyiv and moved its troops to Brussels and Lviv, the city near the Polish border where the US and allies have relocated their embassies, Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang reported.
German airline Lufthansa also canceled flights to Kyiv and Odessa.
President Joe Biden said Friday he’s “convinced” Russia intends to attack within days.
“We’re calling out Russia’s plans. Not because we want a conflict, but because we are doing everything in our power to remove any reason Russia may give to justify invading Ukraine,” the president added in a tweet late Friday.
“If Russia pursues its plans, it will be responsible for a catastrophic and needless war of choice.”
While Putin called such claims “propaganda” and “hysteria,” senior U.S. and European ministers held meetings Saturday to prepare.
Russia maintains the predictions of an impending invasion are wrong and dangerous. It claims it is pulling back some of the 150,000 troops it amassed along the border with Ukraine, while the US and Western allies insist the build-up continues.
While the diplomacy continues, fighting has increased in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists declared a full military mobilization Saturday, the day after ordering women and children to evacuate to Russia, citing the threat of an imminent attack by Ukrainian forces. Kyiv flatly denied the accusation.
Multiple explosions could be heard on Saturday morning in the north of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, as more people got on buses to leave.
“It’s really scary. I’ve taken everything I could carry,” said Tatyana, 30, who was boarding a bus with her four-year-old daughter.
