Russia is massing even more troops near the Ukraine border, the US claimed on Friday, as warnings grew of an imminent war in Eastern Europe.
Adding to a growing sense of alarm, the US, Japan and the Netherlands told their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, with the Dutch preparing to move its diplomatic mission from Kiev to Lviv in the west of the country. Israel announced the evacuation of the families of diplomats.
On another day of frantic diplomatic discussions, including UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace visiting Moscow, President Joe Biden prepared to hold a phone call on Friday to discuss the festering crisis with the leaders of countries including Britain, France, Germany, as well as heads of NATO and the EU.
Earlier Mr Biden said “things could go crazy quickly” and insisted that US troops will not be involved in any rescue missions.
At the same time US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said a Russian invasion could take place at any time, even before the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which many have predicted gave time for countries to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Moscow, for its part, stiffened its response towards the west, claiming that answers sent this week by the EU and NATO to its security demands showed “disrespect”.
Commercial satellite images published by a private US company showed new Russian military deployments at several locations near Ukraine, including annexed Crimea, western Russia and Belarus.
Maxar Technologies, which has been tracking the buildup of Russian forces for weeks, and said the images were taken on Wednesday and Thursday.
It has been widely reported that some 115,000 Russian troops have massed on its border with Ukraine. More troops are said to be located on the Belarus border with Ukraine. Belarus and Russian troops are currently carrying out a 10-day joint military drill close to the border.
Biden met his national security advisers in the White House Situation Room overnight Thursday. American officials believed the crisis could be reaching a critical point, with rhetoric from Moscow hardening, six Russian warships reaching the Black Sea and more Russian military equipment arriving in Belarus, the source said.
“We’re in a window when an invasion could begin at any time, and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Simply put, we continue to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border,” Blinken added.
The Beijing Games end on February 20.
Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley held phone talks on Friday, agencies reported.
In Moscow, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu. Mr Shoigu repeated Russia’s assurances that it was not planning to invade, said Mr Wallace.
Despite the denial, Moscow says it could take unspecified “military-technical” action unless a series of demands are met, including promises from NATO never to admit Ukraine and to withdraw forces from Eastern Europe.
Mr Wallace said there was no “absolutely no deafness” in the meeting, a reference to an apparently frosty meeting 24 hours earlier in Moscow where the Russian Foreign Secretary, Sergei Lavrov, complained of a “deaf and mute” conversation with the UK’s Liz Truss.
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly leader was driven from office by a popular uprising. Moscow responded by annexing Crimea and then backing a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has killed over 14,000 people.
A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped halt large-scale battles, but regular skirmishes have continued and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled. The Kremlin has accused Kiev of sabotaging the agreement, and Ukrainian officials argued in recent weeks that implementing it would hurt their country.
