The president of the United States, Joe Biden, warned his counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday regarding the “severe costs” that invading Ukraine would have for Russia, following a day of intense diplomatic efforts that failed to reduce tensions around that former republic. soviet
Putin said that the suspicion of a attack on Ukraine it was ‘provocative speculation’. His diplomatic adviser denounced a “surge” in American “hysteria.”
The adviser, Yury Ushakov, however, indicated that during a telephone conversation of regarding an hour, both leaders “agreed to maintain contacts at all levels” to defuse the crisis.
The White House reported for its part that in that conversation, Biden “made it clear that if Russia undertakes an invasion, the United States, along with its partners, will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia.”
And he “reiterated” that attacking Ukraine “would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s position.”
Conversation between Putin and Macron
Putin had a previous talk with the French president, Emmanuel Macron. He warned him that “a sincere dialogue is not compatible with a military escalation” in Ukraine, according to the French presidency.
Putin, according to the Kremlin, criticized in that conversation the “large-scale deliveries of modern weapons” to Ukraine. He assured that these create “conditions for possible aggressive actions of the Ukrainian forces” in the east of the country. There is a region controlled by pro-Russian separatists for eight years.
The possibility of a war prompted many Western countries to advise their citizens to leave Ukraine.
Russia itself has admitted that it is reducing its diplomatic staff in Kiev. She argued that it is due to “provocations” from Ukraine and Western countries.
Keep calm
On Friday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called the Russian offensive a “very, very real possibility.”
US officials do not rule out Russia making this decision even during the Beijing Winter Olympics, which end on February 20.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday judged the US remarks to be too alarmist. However, he recognized the risk of an invasion.
“All this information is causing panic and is not helping us,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Kiev, saying they refused to panic.
“Panic is useless. We must unite and fight for our independence,” said student Maria Shcherbenko, holding a sign that read: “I remain calm. I love Ukraine.”
The crisis arose following the deployment of more than 100,000 Russian military on the border with Ukraine several weeks ago.
Moscow has repeatedly denied that it wants to attack the former Soviet republic. Despite this, it demands certain security guarantees, including that NATO does not admit Ukraine among its members, an unacceptable point for the West.
Leave the country
The United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Australia, Japan and Israel called on their citizens to quickly leave Ukraine.
The Dutch flag carrier KLM suspended its flights to Kiev, “until further notice”.
Russia began new naval maneuvers in the Black Sea on Saturday to “defend the sea coast of the Crimean peninsula”, annexed in 2014, from potential threats.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that its Navy had ejected a US submarine from its waters in the Pacific Ocean.
Russia is carrying out maneuvers these days in Belarus, on the borders of the European Union and Ukraine.
For Western countries, all these exercises are particularly worrying because they encircle Ukraine militarily.
aerial bombing
For its part, the White House highlighted the “remarkable” unity of Western countries in the face of what it considers to be the most dangerous moment for Europe since the end of the Cold War 30 years ago.
Likewise, the Americans, who shared their intelligence analyzes with their allies, outlined a dramatic scenario in the event of a Russian offensive. It would likely “start with aerial bombardment and missile strikes that might obviously kill civilians,” the White House said, explaining that there would also be “a quick assault” on Kiev.
