Enlarge image
Ursula von der Leyen
Photo: Valeria Mongelli / imago images / ZUMA Wire
Almost 100,000 Russian soldiers are said to have deployed on the border with Ukraine.
The West is concerned about Moscow's military activities - and is warning the Kremlin.
After US President Joe Biden, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has now threatened Russia with new sanctions if the conflict in Ukraine escalates.
Europe will react with additional punitive measures to "all further aggression and violations of international law" directed against member countries or neighbors such as Ukraine, said von der Leyen.
She sharply criticized the "Russian military movements and the massive troop reinforcements along the eastern border of Ukraine."
In view of this "attack on the territorial integrity and sovereignty" of the country, the EU stands united behind the government in Kiev.
Should Russia actually attack Ukraine, the US does not want to intervene militarily directly
The former Federal Defense Minister also accused Russia of intimidating the western-minded government of Moldova by "manipulating gas deliveries at a time of high energy prices."
These are "cynical geopolitical power games" that democracies have to protect themselves from.
US President Joe Biden will speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine conflict on Tuesday.
Moscow is demanding "guarantees" from NATO that the military alliance will not push ahead with its eastward expansion.
In the conversation, Putin apparently wants to threaten Biden with serious economic consequences in the event of an attack on Ukraine.
According to a senior government official in Washington, if Russia actually does attack Ukraine, the US does not want to intervene directly militarily.
Instead, the White House is considering more "support for the Ukrainian army", "harsh economic sanctions" and a "substantial increase in support and capacities for our NATO allies".
This means that more US soldiers could be stationed in Eastern Europe.
Before Biden talks to Putin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is supposed to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj.
Before the video summit between Biden and Putin, he visited the soldiers on the front line in the east of his country.
He visited positions in the Donetsk region and thanked the soldiers "for protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," as the presidential office in Kiev announced.
Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz also expressed concern about the Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine.
At a joint press conference with Christian Lindner (FDP) and Robert Habeck (Greens), Scholz warned that security and cooperation in Europe require principles that were negotiated in the policy of détente and that continue to have an effect to this day.
“This includes the inviolability and inviolability of borders.
It is very, very important that nobody scrolls through the history books in order to be able to redraw boundaries, «said Scholz.
svs / AFP / dpa / Reuters