The situation in the Ukraine conflict continues to deteriorate. And in the West there is growing concern that Russia may actually attack Ukraine. Now it is known: The government in Moscow is moving troops to Belarus (Belarus).
On site you weigh it down. The Russian armed forces should only start joint maneuvers with the Belarusian troops in February, the Minsk government said on Monday.
Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko announced that the exercise, called “Allied Resolve,” would be carried out in the west on the border between NATO members Poland and Lithuania and in the south on the border with Ukraine.
According to the state news agency Belta, he asked his defense minister to set an exact date for this. “Then we will not be accused of assembling troops anywhere, as if we were preparing for war,” said Lukashenko, alluding to the war concerns of the United States and European countries.
Photo: -/dpa
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/alexander-lukaschenko-praesident-von-belarus-sprach-auf-einer-military-airfield-zu-belarusian-sold-6264f0b31b744dc0825596e0217aa4e0-78856336/Bild/ 5.image.jpg”/> Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko speaks to Belarusian soldiers returning from a deployment in Kazakhstan at a military airfieldPhoto: -/dpa
Scholz warns Russia of serious consequences
While the fear of war is growing, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (63, SPD) has now also intervened. At a meeting with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Madrid, he called on the leadership in Moscow to take clear steps towards de-escalation in the Ukraine conflict.
plain text: Should Russia continue to provoke or even act militarily, this will have serious consequences!
︎ Scholz warned: “Military aggression once morest Ukraine would have serious political and economic consequences. That’s why it’s our job to do everything we can to avoid such a development, which, in the end, everyone has to suffer from.”
The situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border worries the governments in Berlin and Madrid and is “very, very serious,” said Scholz at a joint press conference with Pedro Sánchez. “One must not overlook the troop movements. They are massive and a threat to Ukraine’s sovereignty,” said Scholz.
Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/bundeskanzler-olaf-scholz-63-spd-mit-dem-spanisches-premier-minister-pedro-sanchez-49-in-madr-175721b70f594b2a8432b1a466f1d929- 78856340/image/5.image.jpg”/> Chancellor Olaf Scholz (63, SPD) with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (49) in Madrid: The first visit to Spain was also regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflictPhoto: Michael Kappeler/dpa
︎ If Russia becomes active once morest the neighboring country, it will pay a “high price” for it. The western allies agree on that. All efforts in dialogue formats are currently aimed at preventing an escalation.
Background: Russia has concentrated around 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine. The fear of war is great. After the failure of the negotiations between the US and Russia, people in Ukraine are asking themselves: will Putin strike soon? The West fears an invasion, which the government in Moscow rejects.
Scholz dodges when asked regarding arms deliveries
▶︎ Scholz expressed reservations regarding Ukraine’s demand for arms deliveries from Germany. The federal government is acting “very uniformly” on this issue. “And that also includes standing consistently in the continuity of what German governments have done cleverly on this issue in the past,” said Scholz.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is meeting with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday (10 a.m.). Here, too, the behavior of Russia is an issue.
At a meeting with her Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev this Monday, Baerbock also emphasized that “any further aggression would have a great price for the Russian regime”.