Russia seems to be trying to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict. But US President Joe Biden is certain that Putin will soon attack Ukraine and Kiev.
According to US President Joe Biden, Russia is planning an early attack on Ukraine and also on its capital Kiev. Biden said in the White House on Friday that he was “convinced” that Russian President Vladimir Putin made the decision to invade neighboring Ukraine. “We have reason to believe that the Russian military is planning and planning to attack Ukraine in the coming week, in the coming days.” He added: “We believe they will attack the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, a city of 2.8 million innocent people.”
The US government is speaking so openly about Russia’s plans to thwart Moscow’s efforts to attack Ukraine under a pretext, Biden said. If Russia should go ahead with its plans, it would be responsible for a “catastrophic” and self-initiated war. Among other things, Russia is trying to use false information to create a pretext for an attack on Ukraine. So far, the US government has always emphasized that it does not know whether Putin made a decision to invade Ukraine.
Biden calls for unity against Russia
Biden emphasized the unity of the West towards Putin. “Despite Russia’s efforts to divide us at home and abroad, I can confirm that this has not happened,” Biden said. On Friday he spoke to US congressmen at the security conference in Munich and to western heads of state and government. The “overwhelming message” of both talks was unity and determination. Biden stressed that it was not too late to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
After his brief appearance in the White House, Biden wrote on Twitter: “The American people are united. Europe is united. The transatlantic community is united. The entire free world is united.” The US President added: “Russia has a choice – between war and all the suffering it will bring – or diplomacy that will make the future safer for all.”
<x-embed class=”js-embed embed u-typo u-typo–article-text” consent=”pending” privacy-link=”https://www.stern.de/datenschutzbestimmungen-4541848.html” privacy-settings-link=”https://www.stern.de/politik/ausland/javascript:window._sp_.loadPrivacyManagerModal(237312)” srcdoc=’
‘ vendor-id=”5e71760b69966540e4554f01″ vendor-name=”Twitter”>
After their phone call, Western leaders – including Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz – called on Russia to “give an urgently needed signal of de-escalation.” Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced that there was agreement on this expectation of Moscow at a conference call by Scholz, Biden and other European and transatlantic partners on Friday evening. Everyone agreed that the threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine was very real. The central task now is to keep the window open for diplomacy.
West fears attack on Ukraine
The West fears that the transfer of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers to the border with Ukraine could serve to prepare for war. Russia rejects this. In addition to Biden and Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also took part in the conference call.
The US government again warned of dramatic economic consequences in the event of an invasion of Ukraine. Deputy White House National Security Advisor Daleep Singh said that should Moscow decide to invade the neighboring country, Russia would become isolated from global financial markets and lose access to cutting-edge technologies. “The cost to Russia would be immense,” Singh warned. “Russia would face major capital outflows, growing pressure on its currency, rising inflation, higher borrowing costs, economic collapse and a decline in its productive capacity.”
NATO drastically cuts standby times
In view of the tensions with Russia, the NATO supreme commander in Europe drastically reduced the standby times for tens of thousands of alliance soldiers. According to information from the German press agency from NATO circles, forces of the rapid reaction force NRF must be able to be deployed within just 7 days instead of 30. A so-called “Notice-to-Move” period of 30 instead of 45 days now applies to other units.
According to the White House, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet again with his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov because of the crisis. Blinken accepted the invitation to meet Wednesday, Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. The US continues to rely on a diplomatic solution to the conflict, but it is still unclear whether the Russians want to negotiate seriously, she said. Psaki initially gave no details about the meeting. US media spoke of a meeting in Geneva. The two ministers last met there at the end of January.
Source: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
