Ukraine conflict: Russian neighbor gets Bundeswehr soldiers - but has next request

Created: 02/10/2022, 05:05

By: Patrick Mayer, Cindy Boden

Vilnius: Bundeswehr soldiers are stationed with heavy battle tanks in the Baltic States.

(Archive photo) © IMAGO / Scanpix

Diplomatic efforts are in full swing in the Ukraine conflict.

Concerns about Russia are also growing in the Baltic States.

The news ticker.

• Ukraine conflict*:

  The EU foreign policy chief Borrell sees signs of relaxation

  (see first report).

• Lithuania gets more Bundeswehr soldiers because of Russia - but has another request to Germany

  (see update from February 9, 7:45 p.m.).

• The Kremlin in Moscow sees positive signals, but also criticizes

  (see update from February 9, 1 p.m.).

• This

  news ticker on the Ukraine conflict with Russia

  is continuously updated.

Update from February 9, 10:35 p.m .:

The soldiers transferred from the United States to Poland should also help evacuate US citizens from Ukraine in an emergency.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday that he could not rule out that these military personnel could be used to some extent in evacuation assistance on the Polish side.

However, at the moment there are no efforts by military means to get Americans out of Ukraine.

“There are many ways to leave Ukraine.

And all of that is still in play right now,” Kirby said.

The USA advises against traveling to the country, among other things because of the "increasing threat from Russian military actions" and had also reduced its diplomatic presence there.

On the orders of US President Joe Biden, the United States sent 1,700 soldiers from the United States to Poland and 300 more to Germany because of the Ukraine crisis.

Many of them are already there, the rest should arrive in the coming days.

According to the Pentagon, around 80,000 US soldiers are stationed in Europe.

Ukraine crisis: the Baltic states feel threatened by Russia - and are getting more Bundeswehr soldiers

Update from February 9, 7.45 p.m .:

There are increasing reports that after the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis, the Baltic States also feel threatened by Russia.

The same was reported, for example, by ZDF's "heute journal" on this Wednesday evening.

This week, the Ampel federal government decided to further increase the contingent of German Bundeswehr soldiers in Lithuania by a further 350 women and men.

Background: Since 2017, German soldiers have been training with Lithuanian armed forces to defend the country, which borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad in the southwest.

And to the south and east to Russia's ally Belarus.

In Lithuania, the Bundeswehr is at the head of a NATO mission with a total of 1,200 soldiers and provides half of the troops in the Baltic state with a little more than three million inhabitants.

We have to talk about quality.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda to Germany

The deployment of the current Bundeswehr units in the Baltic States is just ending these days.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda thanked Germany for its support at a ceremony and said: "Thank you very much for your solidarity, determination and leadership." Nauseda then traveled to Berlin, where he met Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) this Thursday for talks the Ukraine crisis will hit.

And: The head of government of Lithuania probably has the next request with him.

“We are no longer talking about quantity here, we have to talk about quality.

Because so far we have not had an air defense system in the Baltic States," he said in an interview with ZDF and named a specific weapon system that his country needs to secure the external border.

Russia's military aggression has long been a cause for concern in the Baltic States as well.

Ukraine crisis in the news ticker: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) turns to Russia again

Update from February 9, 3 p.m.:

In the Ukraine conflict, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) once again drew attention to the dialogue with Russia, but also made it clear that an invasion of Ukraine would have “serious consequences”.

In the joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, the Chancellor emphasized his willingness to engage in dialogue with Russia at all levels and formats, such as in the OSCE or "very particularly" in the so-called Normandy format

).

So you want to enable a political solution.

However, one must also prepare intensively to be able to act in the event of a military escalation.

Scholz again threatened Russia with “serious consequences” should aggression occur.

Update from February 9, 1:55 p.m .:

The European crisis diplomacy to defuse the Ukraine conflict has triggered cautious confidence.

There are "real chances for a diplomatic solution," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev on Wednesday.

He praised the mediation efforts of the Europeans.

"The situation remains tense but under control," he said.

"How the European community responds to this crisis will determine the future of European security and of each individual European state," added the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.

Ukraine crisis in the news ticker: Russia speaks of a "plus point"

Update from February 9, 1 p.m.:

 In the Ukraine conflict, the Kremlin acknowledged the mediation efforts of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised on Wednesday that Macron stressed at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that implementing a peace plan approved in 2015 was the only way to resolve the conflict.

"That's right.

And that's a plus," Peskov said, according to the Interfax agency.

At the same time, he once again accused Ukraine of being unwilling to comply with its obligations under the so-called Minsk Agreement.

"That's why there are both positive and less positive signals," explained Peskow.

The Kremlin also confirmed a meeting planned for Thursday in Berlin in the so-called Normandy format*, in which Germany and France mediate.

Macron had previously announced the meeting with representatives of Russia and Ukraine at advisor level.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (archive image) © SNA/imago

Ukraine conflict with Russia: Merz calls for more coordination in the EU

Update from February 9, 11:55 a.m .:

CDU leader Friedrich Merz called for more coordination within the EU in the Ukraine crisis.

“This is not primarily a challenge for NATO.

This is a challenge for Europe,” he said on the sidelines of talks in Brussels on Wednesday.

From his point of view, "more coordination, agreement and common policy" must become visible.

Among other things, Merz took part in a meeting of the Christian Democratic EPP group in the European Parliament in Brussels, which is led by the CSU European politician Manfred Weber.

"It would be good if Europe - also represented by the heads of state and government in the European Union - spoke more with one voice and made it visible to the outside world that there is close coordination and coordination between the European states in this crisis," said Merz.

"We actually needed a lot more Europe in the Ukraine crisis, not less, but more."

Ukraine conflict: Russian warships in the Black Sea for exercises

Update from February 9, 11 a.m.:

Six Russian warships are apparently on their way from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

At least that's what the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday (February 8), citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

They should probably take part in exercises there.

Russia has already announced such exercises.

It was also announced on Tuesday that Russian soldiers are to leave neighboring Belarus after the end of a controversial joint military exercise, according to Kremlin sources.

"If you've been following it carefully, no one has ever said that Russian troops are staying on the territory of Belarus," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, according to the Interfax agency.

For the maneuver, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday, Russia has been relocating soldiers and military equipment for weeks.

In the West, there are fears that the Kremlin is preparing to invade Ukraine.

NATO, for example, accuses Russia of moving around 30,000 soldiers to Belarus.

From Moscow, on the other hand, it was repeatedly said that the exercise was in accordance with international law and that a - significantly lower - stipulated maximum number of soldiers would not be exceeded.

In addition, the Kremlin emphasizes that the deployment of troops to the allied ex-Soviet republic of Belarus is purely for training purposes.

Ukraine conflict: EU recognizes Macron's maneuvers with Putin - survey shows German position on invasion

First report from February 9th:

Kiev/Moscow - is now, after weeks of negotiations, a de-escalation in the Ukraine conflict possible?

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell sees at least some signs.

French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Moscow was a "good initiative," Borrell said on Tuesday (February 8) at the end of his visit to Washington.

"I think that's an element of relaxation."

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin © SNA/IMAGO (montage)

Macron's meeting with Russia's head of state Vladimir Putin* on Monday "didn't work miracles," said the EU representative.

But as long as people are willing "to sit down at the table and talk, I think there's hope that there won't be a military confrontation."

Ukraine conflict: Macron conveys assurances to Putin - signs of de-escalation?

According to his own statements, Macron had received an assurance from Putin that he would refrain from further escalation.

The French head of state said on Tuesday that he had offered the Kremlin boss "concrete security guarantees" during the five-hour meeting on Monday.

During the consultations with Putin, he was concerned with "preventing an escalation and opening up new perspectives," said Macron.

"For me, this goal has been achieved."

According to Western sources, Moscow has massed more than 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine.

This fuels fears that Russia could be preparing an attack on the neighboring country.

Russia denies this and at the same time claims that it feels threatened by NATO.

Moscow is demanding extensive security guarantees from the military alliance and the USA, but so far without success.

Russian invasion of Ukraine?

What the Germans think

A slim majority of Germans meanwhile considers a Russian invasion of Ukraine to be likely.

Referring to a survey by the European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR) think tank, the

reported that 52 percent expect a Russian attack before the end of this year.

However, only 37 percent of citizens believed that Germany should defend Ukraine in the event of an invasion.

In addition to Germany, the ECFR also interviewed people in Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Romania and Sweden.

According to the

, it became apparent that concern about a Russian attack was greatest in the Eastern European countries.

Ukraine conflict: Chancellor Scholz is looking for a solution with partners

In any case, talks about the Ukraine conflict are continuing.

A top-level meeting took place in Berlin on Tuesday evening, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Poland's head of state Andrej Duda.

With an offer to talk to Russia and a renewed appeal for de-escalation on the Ukrainian border, the three countries want to defuse the conflict with Moscow.

At the same time, they made it clear that "any further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine will have massive consequences and a high price."