Russia accuses Ukraine of shelling a border post. In addition, the Russian army claims to have killed five Ukrainian “saboteurs”. Whether the summit between Putin and Biden will take place is questionable. The situation at a glance.
The war of nerves over Ukraine is getting worse and worse. Russian news agencies reported on Monday, citing the army, that five “saboteurs” from Ukraine had breached the Russian border and had been “eliminated”. In the incident in the southern Russian border region of Rostov, two Ukrainian military vehicles tried to cross the border. The separatists in eastern Ukraine, meanwhile, have called on Moscow to recognize their independence.
Moscow also accused the Ukrainian military of shelling a border post in the Rostov region. The grenade fired from Ukrainian territory “completely destroyed” the post, Russian news agencies reported, citing the FSB secret service, which is also responsible for border protection.
The Ukrainian army said it had not fired a grenade at the Russian border post and accused Moscow of “false news”. Kiev also denied the allegations of border violations: “Not a single one of our soldiers crossed the border into the Russian Federation and not a single one was killed today,” said a representative of the Interior Ministry.
According to Western information, Russia has deployed around 150,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine. The West – above all the USA – has been warning for days that Russia could create a pretext for an attack on Ukraine. An increase in violence in eastern Ukraine, where the army has been fighting pro-Russian separatists since 2014, could serve as such a pretext.
Separatists demand recognition of their independence
According to the US, Russia already has a list of Ukrainians who should be “killed or sent to camps” in the event of an invasion. In a letter to UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, signed by US Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Bathsheba Nell Crocker, Washington also warns that a Russian invasion could result in human rights abuses such as kidnappings or torture.
The pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine also called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize their independence on Monday. In a video message, the separatist leaders in the self-proclaimed “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk also called for cooperation with Moscow “in the field of defense”. Last week, the Russian parliament voted in favor of officially recognizing the independence of the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine crisis: but no talks in prospect?
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has dampened hopes of a summit between Putin and US President Joe Biden on the Ukraine conflict. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that it was “premature” to talk about “concrete plans” for a summit meeting. The dialogue in the Ukraine conflict should be continued at foreign minister level. The office of French President Emmanuel Macron had previously announced that Biden and Putin had agreed in principle to a summit. According to the Elysee Palace, Biden made it a prerequisite that “Russia does not invade Ukraine”.
After Macron, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also wanted to call Putin again on Monday. The planned phone call is closely linked to the international efforts to defuse the Ukraine conflict and has also been agreed with Macron, said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) also appealed to Putin: “Come back to the negotiating table.” Baerbock and the other EU foreign ministers met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels on Monday. As Kuleba said, the EU agreed in principle to a military training mission in Ukraine. However, there will be “no combat troops”.
US warns of invasion of Russia
The US government continues to warn against a Russian invasion of Ukraine – possibly in the coming hours. “We have just seen further movements of Russian units to the border in the last 24 hours for which there is no good explanation other than positioning for an attack,” said US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, on US television Monday morning. However, one cannot predict an exact day – an attack is possible in the “coming hours or days”.
Sullivan also warned of human rights violations if Russia attacks Ukraine. “It will be a war waged by Russia – against the Ukrainian people, to oppress them, to crush them, to harm them,” he said. The US government recently sent a letter to UN Ambassador Bathsheba Nell Crocker in Geneva. It contains credible information that points to serious human rights violations.
Source: Stern
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