The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, warned this Wednesday that, with the Russian plans to deploy more troops on the border with Ukraine, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has the capacity to attack the neighboring country in “a very short time”.
(Read here: Why a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine raises fears of war)
Considering this, U.S gave its go-ahead on Thursday to requests from Baltic countries to send US-made weapons to Ukraine, at a time when threats of russian invasionAn official source declared this Thursday.
(Also: Antony Blinken arrives in Ukraine seeking to ease tensions with Russia)
A State Department official in Berlin, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken is holding meetings on Ukraine later in the day, said the United States is “accelerating authorized shipments of US-origin equipment from other allies.”
“European allies have said they need to move forward with additional security assistance (to) Ukraine in the coming days and weeks,” the official added.
Russia also began this week to deploy an unspecified number of soldiers to Belarus for “improvised” combat readiness exercises on the borders of the European Union (EU) and Ukraine.
An expert source on the issue of authorizations explained that the approval responded to urgent demands from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to assist Ukraine.
(You may be interested: What the United States does not understand about Russia)
These sources did not detail the number or type of weapons, but the Baltic countries’ arsenals include man-portable Javelin anti-tank missiles.
Russia moved tens of thousands of soldiers and tanks near the border with Ukraine late last year, sparking international alarm and sparking fears in these three neighboring Baltic states, which are members of NATO.
The US government has approved $650 million in weapons for Ukraine since last year. Of this total, 200 million were authorized last month, due to the imminent risk of war.
The Ukrainian government has expressed its desire to receive more defensive weapons quickly in the face of the threat of a Russian invasion, and sees shipments of military equipment from neighboring countries as especially valuable.
(Here: Russian troops arrive in Belarus for maneuvers criticized by the US)
EU warns of ‘massive’ sanctions in case of conflict
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, warned Russia on Thursday with “massive” sanctions in the event of military action in Ukraine, with potentially devastating effects on the Russian trade balance.
We reaffirm our solidarity with Ukraine and European partners who are threatened by Russia
“If the situation deteriorates, if there are more attacks on Ukraine’s territorial integrity, we will respond with massive economic and financial sanctions,” von der Leyen said in a speech broadcast during a virtual session of the World Economic Forum.
“The European Union is by far Russia’s largest trading partner and by far its largest investor. And yes, this trade relationship is important to us. But it is much more important to Russia,” he added.
Von der Leyen said he hoped “an attack would not occur” from Russia on Ukraine. “But if there is, we are prepared,” he warned.
The German official, head of the EU executive branch, said the bloc “will not accept Russia’s attempts to divide Europe into spheres of influence.” “We reaffirm our solidarity with Ukraine and European partners who are threatened by Russia,” he added.
According to Von der Leyen, Europe and Russia “share a geography, a culture and a history”. “We also want a common future,” he added.
For the moment, the EU did not specify for the moment what sanctions it could apply to Russia in a conflict scenario. However, senior European sources agree that the measures would be adopted through consultations with the United States, a key NATO ally.
Russia announces naval exercises amid tensions
Russia announced this Thursday naval exercises in January and February in the Atlantic, the Arctic, the Pacific and the Mediterranean, in a context of strong tensions with the West.
“In total, more than 140 warships and support vessels, more than 60 aircraft, 1,000 items of military equipment and some 10,000 soldiers will take part” in these exercises, the Russian Defense Ministry said, quoted by the press agencies of that country.
According to the ministry, these exercises will take place in “waters and seas adjacent to Russian territory” and in “zones of operational importance in the world’s oceans.” “Separate exercises will be held in the waters of the Mediterranean, the North Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean,” it added.
According to this source, these large-scale exercises are organized “in accordance with the training plan of the Russian armed forces for 2022.” “The main goal is to deploy naval, air and space forces to protect Russian national interests in the world’s oceans and counter military threats to
Russia from the seas and oceans,” the ministry said.
Russia also plans to carry out joint naval maneuvers with Iran and China, on a date not yet specified.
In the Black Sea, tensions have grown in recent years. In fact, in June 2021, the Russian fleet had fired warning shots at a British destroyer there.
AFP
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