Eurasia

Diplomatic Push Gives Way To Dire Predictions As Ukraine Tensions Remain High

A flurry of diplomacy furthered hopes for a diplomatic push to avert the threat of large-scale war in Europe late on February 20, but Western warnings sounded more dire over spiraling tensions around Ukraine. The calls from Kyiv and the West for peace talks came as Ukraine reported continued shelling …

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Biden, Putin, ‘agreed in principle’ to hold summit on Ukraine crisis

Biden also spoke with Macron earlier on Sunday, as France seeks to mediate between the sides in a last-minute effort to ease tension. US President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to hold a summit on the Ukraine crisis, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron …

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Kremlin denies reports of Ukraine invasion ‘kill list’

The report by ‘Foreign Policy’ that there was a list of Ukrainians to capture or kill was an “absolute lie,” the Kremlin said. The Kremlin denied US media reports that Russia has drawn up a list of Ukrainians to capture or kill in the event of an invasion, Reuters reported …

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Pro-Russia forces commit ‘false flag’ op, shelling from civilian areas – Ukraine MoD

“In the absence of any aggressive action by Ukrainian defenders, the invaders themselves blow up infrastructure facilities in the occupied territories and carry out chaotic shelling of settlements.” Pro-Russian forces are destroying civilian infrastructure and claiming that the damage is caused by Ukrainian military artillery strikes, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry …

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UK to double troops in Estonia amid Ukraine crisis

The UK has also got 1,000 personnel ready to support humanitarian responses, if required. The UK is set to send additional troops to Estonia, amid fears that the Russian military build-up near Ukraine’s border may trigger a wider conflict in Europe. The move comes as British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace …

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US State Department approves $6bn sale of Abrams tanks to Poland

The move comes after the Polish Government requested 250 M1A2SEPv3 Abrams main battle tanks. The US State Department has approved a potential $6bn foreign military sale (FMS) sale of 250 Abrams tanks, and associated equipment, to Poland. The US Congress was also notified by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) …

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Russia’s Shock and Awe

Why Moscow Would Use Overwhelming Force Against Ukraine Russia appears to be on the verge of launching a major military operation against Ukraine. It has amassed an unprecedented number of troops on the country’s border, and Russian-led forces in the Donbas region of Ukraine have sharply escalated their attacks along …

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War fears grow as Putin orders troops to eastern Ukraine

A long-feared Russian invasion of Ukraine appeared to be imminent Monday, if not already underway, with Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering forces into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine. A vaguely worded decree signed by Putin did not say if troops were on the move, and it cast the order as …

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Special dispatch from Munich: Putin provokes dread and resolve

A sense of helplessness and dread hangs in the air over the Western leaders gathered here at the Munich Security Conference as the expectation grows that Russian President Vladimir Putin will unleash a military attack on Ukraine within days, if not hours. Balanced against that is a renewed and reinvigorated …

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Putin escalates his Ukraine war with recognition of separatist republics

Almost exactly eight years to the day since he first ordered the invasion of Crimea, Vladimir Putin struck another blow in his war against Ukrainian statehood on February 21 by officially recognizing the two so-called separatist republics of eastern Ukraine as independent states. Putin announced his decision to recognize the …

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