West fears escalation of Ukraine conflict despite intensive crisis diplomacy

Enlarge image

US President Biden, Russia's head of state Putin: After all, the mood was "fairly balanced and factual"

Photo: JIM WATSON;

GRIGORY DUKOR / AFP

Diplomatic efforts are continuing in the Ukraine conflict – nevertheless, the West is increasingly anticipating a military escalation of the conflict.

US President Joe Biden threatened his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Saturday with serious consequences in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House said.

In the phone call with Putin, Biden emphasized that the United States "is still ready to engage through diplomatic channels, but we are also prepared for other scenarios".

US government circles said the phone call did not bring about any “fundamental change”.

According to the Kremlin, Putin complained that Western states were not putting the necessary pressure on Ukraine to fulfill its obligations.

After the phone call from the Kremlin, efforts to resolve the crisis were said to be at a "dead end."

Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters that US warnings of a Russian attack on Ukraine were "hysteria."

Nevertheless, the conversation was "fairly balanced and factual".

At the same time, Ushakov emphasized that "the presidents have agreed to continue contacts at all levels."

Attack next week?

In the past few days, the US government had repeatedly warned of an invasion possible "at any time".

The US media spoke of a possible large-scale attack shortly after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's (SPD) visit to Moscow was scheduled for Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated a warning that Moscow could stage a "false flag" incident to invade the neighboring country under a pretext.

"We continue to see very worrying signs of a Russian escalation, including the mobilization of more soldiers on the borders with Ukraine," Blinken said on Saturday.

The White House had previously urged US citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, and other Western countries followed suit.

Federal government calls on Germans to leave the country

The Federal Foreign Office also issued a travel warning on Saturday, calling on Germans to leave Ukraine immediately.

A military escalation in the Ukraine conflict "cannot be ruled out".

According to Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), the German embassy in Kiev will remain open, but the staff there will be reduced.

The Dutch airline KLM suspended its flights to Ukraine on Saturday until further notice.

Australia announced on Sunday that it would withdraw its remaining embassy staff from Kiev.

The embassy will be moved to Lemberg (Lviv).

Putin dismissed reports of an imminent attack as "provocative speculation."

In a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, he accused the West of supplying Ukraine with "modern weapons" and thus creating "conditions for possible aggressive actions by the Ukrainian security forces in Donbass".

Pro-Russian separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region since 2014.

Kremlin withdraws some of the embassy staff

The Kremlin announced on Saturday a partial withdrawal of its diplomatic staff from Ukraine.

The reason is "possible provocations by the Kiev regime or other countries".

Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense announced the withdrawal of almost all remaining US soldiers from Ukraine.

A spokesman said on Saturday that 160 members of the Florida National Guard, who previously advised and trained the Ukrainian army, would be temporarily relocated.

Moscow has massed more than 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine in recent months.

Russia denies any plans to attack and says it feels threatened by NATO.

On Saturday, the country launched another military maneuver in the Black Sea.

According to the Defense Ministry, 30 ships from the Black Sea Fleet are taking part in the exercises near the annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, in Russian waters near the Kuril Islands, there was an incident between a Russian warship and a US submarine.

The destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov drove the US submarine out of Russian waters on Saturday after it ignored requests to heave, the Defense Ministry said in Moscow.

The US military called the "Russian claims about our operations in their territorial waters" "untrue."

oka / AFP / dpa