US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the UN Security Council on Thursday that Russia must abandon the "path of war" and urged Russia to declare unequivocally that it would not invade Ukraine. Hours earlier, Moscow expelled the US deputy chief of mission in a move the White House slammed as "unprovoked". Read about the main events of the day as they unfolded.
5:32 pm Paris time: Blinken urges Moscow to declare unequivocally that it will not invade Ukraine
"I am here today not to start a war, but to prevent one," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the UN Security Council on Thursday. He urged Russia to abandon the "path of war" and declare it had no plans to invade Ukraine.
"The Russian government can announce today – with no qualification, equivocation or deflection – that Russia will not invade Ukraine," he said, before reiterating allegations that Moscow plans to manufacture a pretext for an attack that he said could include a fake or real assault using chemical weapons.
"Russia says it's drawing down those forces," he said. "We do not see that happening on the ground. Our information indicates clearly that these forces – including ground troops, aircraft, ships – are preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days."
Blinken also said he had sent a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier on Thursday proposing an in-person meeting in Europe next week.
3:53 pm Paris time: Russia expels senior US official from embassy in Moscow
Moscow has expelled the US deputy chief of mission to Russia, Bart Gorman, a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday, warning of a US response amid heightened fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"Russia’s action against our DCM was unprovoked and we consider this an escalatory step and are considering our response," the spokesperson said.
1:25 pm Paris time: Ukrainian president says pro-Russian forces have hit kindergarten in 'big provocation'
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that pro-Russian forces in the eastern Donbass region had shelled a kindergarten and called the move a "big provocation". "It's important that diplomats and the OSCE remain in, their monitoring activities are an additional deterrent. We need an effective mechanism for recording all ceasefire violations," Zelenskiy said on Twitter.
1:15 pm Paris time: Russia could be trying to fabricate 'pretext' for an invasion, NATO, UK say
NATO is worried Russia could be trying to create a pretext for an invasion in Ukraine, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, commenting on reports of shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of the Donbass. "We are concerned that Russia is trying to stage a pretext for an armed attack against Ukraine, there is still no clarity, no certainty about the Russian intentions," Stoltenberg told reporters after a two-day meeting of NATO defence ministers at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also pointed the finger at Moscow: "Reports of alleged abnormal military activity by Ukraine in Donbass are a blatant attempt by the Russian government to fabricate pretexts for invasion. This is straight out of the Kremlin playbook," Truss said on Twitter, adding that Britain would "continue to call out Russia's disinformation campaign".
1 pm Paris time: Moscow rejects Western accusations, says troop pullback takes time
The Kremlin on Thursday rejected what it called "unfounded accusations" by the United States and NATO that it was not withdrawing forces from its border with Ukraine, saying it would take time to wind down military exercises.
"It's clear the grouping for the (military) exercises was built up over many weeks, and it is of course impossible to withdraw it in a single day. They can't just take off and fly away... it takes time," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing in Moscow. "As always, unfounded accusations," he added.
11:10 am Paris time: Russia says it will respond to US security proposals on Thursday, says it wants diplomatic solution
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow would send Washington a reply to US proposals on European security, with tensions between the countries soaring over Ukraine. "We will send this letter to the American side today," Lavrov told a press conference following talks with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, adding that the contents of the response would be made public.
Speaking at a joint news conference following talks, Di Maio said he welcomed the announcement. "I think it's very good news, a very good signal," Di Maio said, adding that Lavrov had assured him Moscow wanted to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis.
10:50 am Paris time: Russia, Belarus to end drills as planned on Feb. 20
Russia and Belarus will end their joint military drills on February 20 as previously planned, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, addressing Western concerns that Russian troops might stay in Belarus for a longer period.
Separately, the RIA news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that the matter of extending Russian troops' stay in Belarus was not on the agenda.
9:35 am Paris time: Satellite images show continued Russian military activity near Ukraine, says private US firm
Satellite images show Russia has pulled back some military equipment from near Ukraine, but that other hardware arrived and that Russia still has a lot of forces and equipment near its ex-Soviet neighbour, a private US company said on Thursday. The images released by US-based Maxar Technologies, which has been tracking the build-up of Russian forces for weeks, could not be independently verified by Reuters.
9:20 am Paris time: Russia’s Putin could drag out Ukraine crisis for months, 'no evidence' of withdrawal, UK says
Russian President Vladimir Putin could drag out the Ukraine crisis for months in an attempt to challenge Western unity, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.
"There is currently no evidence the Russians are withdrawing from border regions near Ukraine," Truss wrote in The Daily Telegraph newspaper. "We must have no illusions that Russia could drag this out much longer in a brazen ploy to spend weeks more – if not months – subverting Ukraine and challenging Western unity," Truss said.
9:10 am Paris time: Russia announces new military withdrawal from annexed Crimea
Russia announced a new drawdown of military forces from the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula Thursday, continuing what it said was a troop withdrawal despite scepticism from Ukraine's Western allies. "Units of the southern military district that ended tactical exercises at training grounds on the Crimean Peninsula are returning by rail to their permanent bases," the defence ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.
8:25 am Paris time: Russia starts Caspian navy drills
Around 20 Russian warships started drills in the Caspian Sea on Thursday, Russia's defence ministry said, part of broader war games involving most of its army and navy.
8:00 am Paris time: G20 meeting begins with warning on Ukraine crisis
Finance ministers and central bank governors of G20 nations began a two-day meeting Thursday with Indonesia's leader warning the Ukraine crisis was a threat to the post-pandemic recovery. The Group of 20 – which brings together the world's biggest economies including the US, China and some European nations – is holding the talks in hybrid format in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
Opening the meeting, Indonesian President Joko Widodo warned of the risks for the global economy of the crisis in Ukraine, where fears are growing that Russia is poised to invade. "This is not the time for rivalries and creating new tensions that disrupt the ... recovery, let alone endanger the safety of the world, as is happening in Ukraine," he said. "All parties must stop the rivalry and tension."
The threat of a Russian invasion of its ex-Soviet neighbour presents a fresh challenge for a world already struggling to keep recovery from the coronavirus pandemic on track as inflation surges. Ahead of the talks, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in an interview with AFP of further "global fallout" if the West moves ahead with punishing sanctions on Russia over the crisis.
7:50 am Paris time: Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine accuse government forces of attacks
Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine accused government forces on Thursday of opening fire on their territory four times in the past 24 hours and said they were trying to establish if anyone had been hurt or killed.
It was not immediately clear how serious the incidents were and there was no immediate reaction from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has been monitoring the situation in eastern Ukraine but has pulled out some of its monitors in recent days.
Ukraine's military denied the separatists' accusations that government troops had attacked, saying it was the rebels who had shelled the Ukrainian military.
6:28 am Paris time: Russia says new video shows troops returning to bases after drills
Russia’s defence ministry published video on Thursday that it said showed troops and military equipment from its western military district’s tank army returning to their permanent deployment bases after drills.
The ministry said tanks and armoured vehicles would travel around 1,000 km (620 miles) by rail.
Western countries warned on Wednesday there was a growing Russian military presence at Ukraine’s borders, contradicting Moscow’s insistence of a pullback.
6:12 am Paris time: Russian-backed rebels accuse Ukrainian government forces of mortar attacks
Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine accused Kyiv government forces on Thursday of using mortars to attack their territory, in violation of agreements aimed at ending the conflict, the RIA news agency said.
Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops close to Ukraine’s borders while demanding that NATO pledge not to accept Kyiv as a member. The West has threatened Moscow with new sanctions if it attacks Ukraine; Russia denies planning any attacks.
Sporadic shooting has been reported in the rebel-held regions from both sides in recent years. But an escalation in the years-long conflict with Donbass separatists could fuel tension between Russia and the West.
According the the RIA report, representatives of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic said Ukrainian forces used mortars, grenade launchers and a machine gun on Thursday.
“Armed forces of Ukraine have rudely violated the ceasefire regime, using heavy weapons, which, according to the Minsk agreements, should be withdrawn,” said representatives of Luhansk region in the Ukrainian-Russian ceasefire control group cited by Interfax news agency.
1:15 am Paris time: US VP Harris to meet Ukraine’s Zelensky in Munich
US Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference this week, a senior White House official said Wednesday.
The meeting, scheduled for Saturday, will be “a real opportunity to underscore our commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the official said.
12:45 am Paris time: US official says Russia adding ‘as many as 7,000 troops’, claims of withdrawal ‘false’
Russia has increased its presence on the border with Ukraine by “as many as 7,000 troops,” some of whom arrived Wednesday, said a senior White House official, without providing evidence. The official slammed Moscow’s announcement of a withdrawal as “false,” adding, “We continue to receive indications they could launch a false pretext at any moment to justify an invasion.”
The official, who requested anonymity, added that while Moscow has said it wants to reach a diplomatic solution, its actions “indicate otherwise.”
Earlier Wednesday, the United States and NATO joined Ukraine in saying there was no sign of Russian troops withdrawing after military movements in occupied Crimea fueled reports that the crisis could be abating.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
