Concern about new developments in the Ukraine conflict is growing in the West.
Now there should be a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Selenskyj.
All developments in the news ticker.
Update from April 23, 10:05 a.m.:
After controversial maneuvers on the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, Russia has begun the announced withdrawal of the troops that have also been transferred there.
The soldiers who took part in the exercises would return to their traditional military bases, the Ministry of Defense said on Friday in Moscow, according to the Interfax agency.
Accordingly, the relocated military technology for the return to the bases will also be shipped on the railroad, on ships and in airplanes.
Ukraine and the NATO states had recently expressed concern about the Russian troop deployment in the region.
Update from April 22nd, 7:55 p.m
.: Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown himself ready for a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Selenskyj - however, not as suggested by Selenskyj in eastern Ukraine, but in the Russian capital Moscow. “When it comes to developing mutual relationships, then please. We receive the President of Ukraine in Moscow at any time that is convenient for him, ”Putin said on Thursday according to the Interfax agency.
Against the background of the tense situation in eastern Ukraine, Zelenskyi had previously proposed a meeting to the Kremlin chief in the Donbass conflict area (
see previous update
).
If Zelenskyj wants to discuss the problems in Donbass, he will have to meet with the leaders of the eastern Ukrainian separatist areas of Luhansk and Donetsk, Putin said.
For about seven years, parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions along the Russian border have been controlled by pro-Russian insurgents.
According to UN estimates, more than 13,000 people have been killed since the conflict broke out in 2014.
A peace plan agreed in 2015 is on hold.
Ukraine conflict: Zelenskyi asks Putin to meet in eastern Ukraine
Update from April 22, 4:48 p.m.:
Russia has announced the withdrawal of its troops stationed near the Ukrainian border and on the annexed Crimean peninsula in recent weeks. The goals of the military maneuvers have been achieved, said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Thursday during a troop visit to the Crimea. He therefore ordered the units to withdraw to their bases from Friday. The withdrawal should therefore be completed by May 1st.
Russia had stationed tens of thousands of soldiers on the Ukrainian border and in the Crimea, sparking fears that tensions in the region would escalate.
According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, around 10,000 soldiers and 40 warships took part in the maneuvers on the Crimean peninsula alone.
Schoigu described the exercises as a reaction to "threatening" activities by NATO.
According to EU estimates, Russia gathered more than 100,000 soldiers along the Ukrainian border.
Washington accused Moscow of wanting to "undermine and destabilize" Ukraine.
The EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell spoke of the largest Russian troop deployment in seven years.
Against the background of the tense situation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj invited his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin to a meeting in embattled eastern Ukraine on Tuesday: he was ready to propose a meeting to Putin "at any place in the Donbass region where war is raging" .
Zelenskyi warned that millions of lives were at stake.
His proposal was initially unanswered.
Ukraine escalation?
Putin's maneuver "largest Russian military march on the border that there has ever been"
Update from April 20, 6.45 a.m.:
The US government has strongly condemned Russia's plans to partially restrict shipping in the Black Sea.
The spokesman for the State Department in Washington, Ned Price, said on Monday that such a step would be another "unprovoked escalation" by Russia in the Ukraine conflict.
He accused Moscow of wanting to "undermine and destabilize" Ukraine.
According to Russian state media, Russia plans to block parts of the Black Sea near the annexed Crimean peninsula to foreign warships and other state ships from the end of April to the end of October.
The Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov would be affected.
Price said this development was "particularly worrying" because there were also credible reports of Russian troops being transferred to Crimea and the Ukrainian border.
The Russian troop strength there has reached a level never before since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict in 2014, Price said.
The spokesman for the US Department of Defense, John Kirby, spoke on Monday of the largest Russian troop deployment since 2014.
Ukraine escalation?
100,000 Russian soldiers on the border and in the Crimea
Update from April 19, 11:25 p.m.:
The EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell is now talking about 100,000 Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian border and in the Crimea.
In the afternoon, the EU foreign affairs representative had given the number as 150,000 and spoke of the “largest Russian military march on Ukrainian borders” “that ever existed”.
In the evening, the EU corrected the number to 100,000 soldiers without giving any reason.
"We call on Russia to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border," said Borrell.
He did not want to comment on where he got the number of Russian soldiers.
But it was his "reference number", he said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was also connected to the EU video conference on Monday.
Update from April 19, 3:38 p.m.:
According to the EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell, Russia has "more than 150,000 soldiers" stationed on the border with Ukraine and on the annexed Crimean peninsula, reports AFP. This is "the largest Russian military march on the Ukrainian borders that there has ever been," said Borrell on Monday after consultations with the EU foreign ministers. This is "the risk of further escalation obvious".
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) also expressed concern about the “military march”. It is therefore primarily a matter of preventing “unintended events from setting in motion a spiral of military escalation,” he said. It is necessary for both sides to have "a reasonable dialogue". Maas confirmed discussions at working level for a possible meeting in Normandy format. This would be a meeting of representatives of Russia and Ukraine, mediated by Germany and France. Whether this will happen is still open, said Maas. This also applies to the level at which such a meeting can take place.
More than 13,000 people were killed in the conflict with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, which has been going on since 2014.
Since mid-February there has been increased fighting again, which has further undermined an already fragile ceasefire.
Moscow and Kiev blame each other for this.
Ukraine escalation?
Putin with the next explosive military maneuver - "extremely worrying development"
First report from April 17:
Moscow - Vladimir Putin has followed up the announcements with deeds. On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced plans to move warships into the Black Sea. A total of 15 warships then passed the Kerch Strait on the Crimean peninsula on Saturday (April 17th). You should take part in maneuvers that can extend over months. For this undefined period of time, sea areas around the Crimea are to remain closed. This action comes at a time when the US has announced new sanctions against Russia.
According to Russian information, other shipping should not be affected by this deployment.
However, concerns about current developments are growing internationally.
The German press agency quotes a high-ranking EU official who speaks of an "extremely worrying development".
Not only the drastically increased military presence around the Crimea is causing concern, but also a previous Russian troop deployment on the eastern border of Ukraine.
There parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk areas on the Russian border are still controlled by separatists.
Ukraine sees "demonstration of strength" behind Putin's troop deployment
The head of the Ukrainian military operation, Sergei Najew, however, indicated that he does not expect a new war.
"We don't see any preparations for an attack," he said on Saturday night on Ukrainian television.
"In military language we speak of a demonstration of strength."
Angela Merkel calls for withdrawal - Putin is sending more Russian military
This demonstration did not go uncommented in Berlin and Paris either.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron called on Vladimir Putin on Friday to withdraw the troops.
During a conversation with the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Selenskyj, they expressed concern about the current development.
The Russian plans for military maneuvers in the Black Sea, and thus a next stage of escalation in the conflict, follows regardless of this appeal.
Relations between Ukraine and Russia are also strained by another incident.
A Ukrainian diplomat was arrested in St. Petersburg.
The consul of the Ukrainian Consulate General, Alexander Sosonjuk, was caught trying to obtain "confidential information" from a Russian citizen.
(rm with dpa)
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Alexei Druzhinin
