French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet in Berlin to seek a common response to Russia as fears rise that Moscow could soon attack Ukraine.
Tuesday’s talks in the German capital come a day after Washington put 8,500 troops on heightened alert for possible deployment to Eastern Europe, potentially at very short notice, and other NATO member states moved to boost their presence in the region.
Russia has massed some 100,000 troops within reach of Ukraine’s border, surrounding its neighbor with forces from the north, east, and south.
The Kremlin denies planning an invasion and Moscow cites the Western response as evidence that Russia is the target, not the instigator, of aggression.
Here are all the latest updates:
UK will not hesitate to toughen sanctions on Russia, PM says
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said his government will soon set out more details on possible future sanctions for Russia in response to its aggression towards Ukraine.
“We in the UK will not hesitate to toughen our national sanctions against Russia in response to whatever [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin may do and the House [of Commons] will soon hear more on this,” he told Parliament.
Johnson also said the United Kingdom would look to contribute to any new NATO deployments if Russia were to invade Ukraine.
NATO to determine troop posture regarding Ukraine: US official
NATO will make all decisions on possible movement of troops amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, US Deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer has said.
“The alliance will make decisions about force posture adjustments, but they are ready to go at a moment’s notice when the alliance decides,” he told CNN in an interview.
UK foreign minister to visit Ukraine next week
The UK’s foreign minister has said she will visit Ukraine next week and reiterated a warning to Russia that any invasion of its neighbour would provoke severe economic penalties.
“A further military incursion by Russia into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake and come with a severe cost on Russia’s economy, including coordinated sanctions,” Liz Truss told Parliament.
Asked about the possible deployment of British troops in a combat role, she said it was “unlikely that that would be the circumstance”.
Croatia to withdraw military from NATO forces in event of conflict: President
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic has said his country will withdraw its military from NATO forces in the region in event of a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, according to local media reports.
Russian rouble tries to recover after sell-off
The rouble has slightly recovered after a massive sell-off saw the currency plunged to a more than 14-month low, with Russian assets highly sensitive to tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.
By 11:40 GMT, the rouble was 0.2 percent stronger against the dollar at 78.59, slightly up after largely flat levels earlier in the day. On Monday it fell to 79.50, the rouble’s weakest point since November 3, 2020.
Versus the euro, the rouble gained 0.6 percent to trade at 88.64.
EU work on ‘deterrent measures’ is ‘well advanced’: Spokesperson
The European Union’s executive arm has advanced its work to have “strong deterrent” measures ready if Russia continues its threatening actions against Ukraine, a spokesperson for the bloc has said.
“The work is very well advanced in order to have in place strong deterrent and also robust measures prepared in case the dialogue does not succeed, that Russia does not de-escalate.” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
“In case Russia embarks on future violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty territorial integrity… We will be reacting very strong and there will be strong political consequences and massive economic costs inflicted on the aggressor.”
Ukraine claims to break up Moscow-backed group preparing attacks
Ukraine says it has dismantled a group of saboteurs coordinated by Moscow that was preparing a series of attacks in its border regions to “destabilize” the situation in the ex-Soviet country.
The group was preparing a “series of armed attacks” on city infrastructure, Ukraine’s security service SBU said in a statement, adding that the group was “coordinated by Russian special services”.
Russia has repeatedly denied it has any plans to make an incursion into neighboring Ukraine, but Kyiv and its Western allies fear otherwise [File: Press Service of the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade/Handout via Reuters]
UN refugee agency says it is ready to help in Ukraine if required
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has said it is keeping a close eye on the Ukraine crisis and is ready to help in case conflict causes a displacement of people.
“We are calling for calm, for all actors to try to ratchet down the tensions,” UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh told a UN briefing. “We are talking to partners about contingency plans. We have the ability to move in supplies if needed.”
German reaction to crisis ‘concerning’: Polish PM
Poland’s prime minister has said he is concerned by Germany’s reaction to the crisis, following a report that Berlin is blocking NATO ally Estonia from giving Ukraine military support.
“I observe with concern the situation in Ukraine and the reactions of our neighbors from Germany in the face of the threat from Russia,” Mateusz Morawiecki said in a Facebook post.
Russia begins combat readiness inspection: Report
Russia has begun combat readiness inspections involving more than 6,000 troops in its southern military district, which borders Ukraine, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency quotes the country’s military as saying.
‘War with Ukraine’ unwanted by Russians: Analyst
Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based independent defense and military analyst, says the ongoing crisis is creating “fear” among many Russian citizens.
“Real confrontation with the West, and a possible war with Ukraine, is not what the people really want,” Felgenhauer told Al Jazeera from the Russian capital.
“There is an effect of kind of rallying around the flag in a time of crisis, but there is a lot of fear, people are afraid of war… that’s obvious, and many hope this is just a kind of … high-power stake game, that this is brinkmanship and there will be no war.”
Kremlin says US actions causing ‘great concern’
The Kremlin has said it is Washington’s actions over Ukraine with “great concern” and accused the US of heightening tensions after it put troops on alert to be ready to deploy to Europe if needed.
“The United States is escalating tensions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “We are watching these US actions with great concern.”
Russian, Ukrainian officials to meet
Russian and Ukrainian officials are set to meet in Paris on Wednesday for talks with their French and German counterparts.
The meeting marks a revival of four-way talks between the nations known as the Normandy Format.
Madrid focused on deterrence in Eastern Europe: Minister
Spain’s defence minister says its warships and fighter jets deployed in Eastern Europe are not offensive but are focused on stability and deterrence.
“These are permanent missions of stability and deterrence and in no way offensive,” Margarita Robles said during an interview with radio station SER.
Spain has deployed fighter jets in Baltic countries to contribute to NATO’s air surveillance programme for a number of years. Robles said last week Spain also sent two warships to the Mediterranean and Black Seas and is considering sending more warplanes to Bulgaria.
NATO reinforces its eastern flank
NATO allies have put forces on standby and sent ships and fighter jets to bolster Europe’s eastern defences as tensions soar over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine.
In a Ukrainian city, a civilian army prepares for war with Russia
In Kharkiv, northeast Ukraine, reserve forces are busily preparing for a possible conflict with Russia.
They are part of the so-called Territorial Defence Force – a volunteer unit within the country’s official Armed Forces – which is being readied for engagement.
