Ukraine conflict: Russia apparently moves helicopters to the border - weather is crucial

Created: 01/12/2022, 05:43 AM

From: Cindy Boden

Vladimir Putin (left), President of Russia, listens to Boris Obnosov, General Director of the Tactical Missile Armament Society, during their meeting in Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo headquarters.

(Archive image) © Evgeniy Paulin / dpa

There is still no rapprochement in the Ukraine crisis.

A US report is now heating up the discussion that Russia is accelerating preparations for a possible attack.

• The Ukraine crisis continues to create tensions between Russia and Europe, as well as the USA.

• Apparently, Russia is now also moving helicopters to the border (see initial report).

• Former Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) assesses the current situation in the Ukraine conflict as "dramatic" (see update from January 11th, 6:57 pm).

Update from January 11th, 6:57 pm:

The chairman of the Atlantik-Brücke and former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) assesses the current situation in the Ukraine conflict as "dramatic".

"The situation is threatening because nobody can really calculate how far Russia is ready to go," said Gabriel at phoenix.

“I believe that the mere fact that such a military threat potential is being built up is enough to contribute to destabilization, especially in Ukraine, but also to deep uncertainty in Europe.

Maybe that's the real goal - to create uncertainty. "

Gabriel appealed to Europe to resolve its own conflicts independently in the future: “In the last few days I have been wondering whether it will be the last time America is ready to negotiate on behalf of Europe and why we don't actually do it ourselves, why we need American help. That will not be a solution in the long run, ”said the former SPD chairman.

Gabriel justifies the demand of the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, that the German government should campaign for a swift accession of Ukraine to NATO with the security situation there: “The reason can only be that these countries obviously have the impression that Their security is being threatened, not by Germany or the USA, but by Russia. ”However, Ukraine's membership in NATO is not on the agenda at all, commented Gabriel. In this respect, the question arises for him why Russia is making this threatening gesture. Rather, Russia must be ready to take steps and withdraw its troops, demanded the ex-foreign minister.

"In the face of the military threatening gesture of over 100,000 soldiers, Russia cannot demand that we Europeans and Americans give in." Gabriel currently does not think that arms deliveries to Ukraine make sense.

"As long as we are in a negotiating situation and military aggression does not really go beyond what we have unfortunately been experiencing for years in eastern Ukraine, I do not believe that arms deliveries can somehow help to relax the whole thing." excluded under German law.

The federal government is therefore not allowed to deliver weapons into an area of ​​tension and is thus behaving "in accordance with the law".

Ukraine conflict: Russia apparently moves helicopters to the border - weather is crucial

First report from January 11, 2022:

Kiev / Moscow - Russia repeatedly assures that it does not want to attack Ukraine.

But the western nations are concerned.

Soldiers at the Ukrainian border created different impressions.

Now there is a new report that also speaks of helicopters and planes at the border.

According to the

, the number of troops has remained largely constant despite predictions to the contrary.

But according to officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin is beginning to take steps to deploy military helicopters.

So is planning for an attack going on after all?

Allegedly there are still around 100,000 soldiers near the border.

Attack aircraft were also positioned.

Ukraine conflict: temperatures as a decisive factor

Probably a decisive factor for a possible attack: the weather. According to the

, US officials say

Russia's window of time for an invasion is limited, should there be an order. Temperatures are crucial, because if the ground is frozen, heavy vehicles and equipment can be moved easily. Rather, there might be muddy ground in the spring. A relatively mild winter has so far slowed the freezing of the ground. According to government officials, Putin could therefore be forced to postpone a possible ground offensive until February at the earliest.

Biden's government has now even commissioned meteorologists to monitor the likely weather in Ukraine more closely in the coming weeks.

In addition, the USA has been flying over Ukraine with bugging planes on a regular basis since the end of December.

The communication of the Russian ground commanders could be eavesdropped.

Video: Ukraine insists on military support from Germany

Ukraine: NATO-Russia consultations are pending - "No clear signals of de-escalation"

Moscow categorically rejects any plans to invade Ukraine.

However, ahead of important NATO consultations with Russia, the USA has so far seen no efforts to relax the situation by Moscow in the Ukraine crisis.

Russia continues to have around 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine, said the US ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, on Tuesday the US broadcaster CNN.

“We believe that they have plans to move more troops to the front.” At the moment, there are no “clear signals of de-escalation” from Russia being seen.

A meeting of the NATO-Russia Council is scheduled for this Wednesday in Brussels - the first in two and a half years.

Thereafter there will be talks in Vienna on Thursday within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Representatives of the USA and Russia met for bilateral talks in Geneva on Monday.

In the Ukraine crisis, however, there was no convergence.

The United States and the Western defense alliance NATO are calling for Russian troops to be withdrawn from the border with Ukraine.

Russia is calling for US troops and arms cuts in Europe and an assurance that NATO will not be expanded further east.