In light of the confirmation that Russia will invade Ukraine within days, the Ukrainian army announced yesterday the completion of a defense plan that lays out more than one scenario for a possible Russian invasion.
He added that anti-aircraft missile batteries have been deployed along the lines of contact with Russia.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen countries urged their citizens to leave Ukraine, amid warnings from Western powers of an imminent Russian invasion.
In the context, the White House announced that US President Joe Biden had warned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that Moscow would pay a “high and immediate price” if it invaded Ukraine.
The two leaders held a telephone conversation that lasted for regarding an hour as part of diplomatic efforts to defuse tension between Moscow and Kiev.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that the warnings of the invasion cause panic, which “is in the interest of our enemies,” as he put it.
The White House warned that an invasion might happen at any time, and might start with air strikes. Russia described these statements as “provocative speculation.”
In Kiev, thousands of people marched through the city, chanting slogans of loyalty to Ukraine and resistance to any Russian invasion of the country. The rally was organized by the right-wing nationalist movement opposed to President Zelensky, and the far-right activist Sergei Sternenko, but it attracted a wider audience.
The Ukrainian government pledged yesterday to keep its airspace open despite Western fears of the dangers of a Russian invasion.
“The airspace over Ukraine remains open, while the authorities are working to ward off risks for airlines,” the Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
The Dutch airline, KLM, announced on Saturday the suspension of all flights in Ukrainian airspace until further notice, in the face of the increased risks. A flight scheduled for Saturday evening was canceled.
The airline is no longer flying over eastern Ukraine since the MH17 plane connecting Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was crashed and shot down in this area on July 17, 2014, killing 283 passengers and 15 crew members. Moscow has long denied any involvement.
On the other hand, Air France, a member of the same alliance, continues its flight program between France and Ukraine, with “two flights per week, Tuesday and Sunday.”
To keep pace with the potential increased demand, due to the cancellation of other companies’ flights, Air France “increased the capacity of the flights” with Airbus A321, rather than the smaller A319 aircraft.
The situation does not seem reassuring, with the presence of 130,000 Russian soldiers stationed along the Ukrainian border and carrying out extensive military exercises, and no easing of tension has yet been reached through diplomatic means.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said yesterday that there is “something of a Munich smell in the air” in this crisis, referring to the 1938 agreement with Nazi Germany that failed to avoid World War II, which angered Ukraine.
Ukraine’s ambassador in London, Vadim Prystaiko, criticized the use of these expressions, saying that “the time is not right to insult our partners in the world” in light of “a state of panic everywhere, not only in people’s minds but also in financial markets.”
German officials also warned of the impending danger and increased their rhetoric on Russia.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier considered, shortly following his re-election to a second term, that Moscow bears “responsibility” for the danger of “war” in Europe.
Earlier, a source in the German government, who did not want to be identified, considered the situation “critical” and “very dangerous.”
And German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned, before today’s visit to Kiev and then Tuesday to Moscow, that the West will impose sanctions “immediately” on Russia if it invades Ukraine.
The Russian ambassador to Sweden, the veteran diplomat, Viktor Tatarantsev, had said hours ago in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that his country “does not care” regarding the dangers of Western sanctions.
On the contrary, he added, “the greater the Western pressure on Russia, the stronger the Russian response.”
On the other hand, Russia expressed its “concern” regarding the “transfer” of employees of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe from Ukraine.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe includes 57 countries from Europe, Asia and North America, including the United States, Russia and some Western European countries, with the aim of promoting dialogue and cooperation on security issues.
The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the organization’s mission of being “deliberately drawn to the military terror provoked by Washington and using it as a tool of potential provocation” by withdrawing staff.
