Ukraine crisis: Russia sends an important signal - but a sensitive document with Putin causes a new escalation

Created: 2022-02-15Updated: 2022-02-15, 12:32 p.m

By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi

The Kremlin announces that Russian soldiers have been ordered back to the Ukrainian border.

But now there could be a new escalation.

The news ticker.

• In the Ukraine conflict*, hopes of relaxation are increasing.

  The Russian Ministry of Defense has announced that some units are returning to the border

  (see initial report)

  .

• According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, an invasion by Russia* has been averted for the time being

  (see update from February 15, 10:55 a.m.)

  .

• The Kremlin confirmed the withdrawal of some of the soldiers

  (see update of February 15, 11:20 a.m.)

  , but the next possible escalation is already looming

  (see update of February 15, 11:45 a.m.).

• This

  news ticker on the Ukraine crisis

  is continuously updated.

Ukraine conflict: Ukrainian parliament condemns Russian plans - OSCE wants to offer Moscow a new dialogue

Update from February 15, 12:20 p.m .:

The Ukrainian parliament warned against Russian plans to recognize the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine, as reported by the state news agency

.

Since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, several voices from Russian politics have been calling for recognition of the so-called "People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk", which have been occupied by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

In a statement signed by 331 MPs, the Ukrainian parliament called on institutions such as the EU, NATO and the OSCE not to accept a possible Russian decision in this direction.

Russian efforts to recognize the "People's Republics" were condemned in the strongest possible terms.

Update from February 15, 12:15 p.m.:

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) wants to offer Russia a new dialogue.

The situation in Ukraine remains extremely tense and threatens to escalate seriously, said Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, who currently chairs the OSCE, in Moscow on Tuesday.

"In this sense, we have proposed an initiative for a new dialogue on European security," he said at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov called the proposal "interesting".

"We are ready for very close cooperation with the OSCE Chairmanship," said the Russian Foreign Minister.

This position comes with a special responsibility, Lavrov said: “The presidency should encourage compromises and choose neutral approaches.

The most important thing for Russia at the moment is the dialogue with the USA and NATO.

"Without progress with the USA and NATO, talks in Vienna will not bring any progress," he emphasized.

Those talks would now continue.

Ukraine conflict: vote in the Russian Duma heats up the situation - is the next escalation coming?

Update from February 15, 11:45 a.m .:

Another escalation in the Ukraine conflict could now follow.

In the Russian State Duma, the majority voted in favor of a resolution that intends for Russian recognition of the so-called "Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics" in eastern Ukraine.

The areas have been occupied by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

In the vote, 351 MPs voted "Yes".

Only 16 opposed recognition.

Now the approved document is to be presented to the Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has warned against such a move.

Kyiv will see the recognition of the "People's Republics" as a de facto Russian withdrawal from the Minsk accords.

Update from February 15, 11:35 a.m .:

Despite the Kremlin's announcement of the troop withdrawal, US officials continue to fear a Russian attack on Ukraine.

Intelligence sources told the English newspaper

that the attack

order would be given at 03:00 (Moscow time) on Wednesday

US media have previously circulated this date for a Russian invasion, citing security sources.

The attack will most likely come from multiple directions, the sources told the English newspaper.

In addition, air strikes on military and government centers in Kiev are possible before tanks roll over the border.

Ukraine crisis: Kremlin confirms troop withdrawal - Kiev sees invasion by Moscow averted for the time being

Update from February 15, 11:15 a.m .:

The Russian government has confirmed the planned withdrawal of some of the soldiers who have gathered at the border with Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the troops were withdrawing as part of a "normal process".

At the same time he announced that Russia would "conduct further military exercises".

According to the Kremlin spokesman, Moscow has the right to conduct military maneuvers throughout the territory of the Russian Federation: "This is not a topic for us to discuss."

He also took aim at Western dates of the possible start of a Russian invasion, calling them "madness" and claiming that Putin joked about them from time to time.

“This information is difficult to understand.

Sometimes Putin even jokes about it and wants to know if the exact time when the war started was published somewhere," the spokesman said.

Update from February 15, 10:55 a.m .:

According to Ukraine, a Russian invasion has been averted for the time being.

"We and our allies managed to prevent Russia from escalating further," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Kiev on Tuesday.

"It's already mid-February and you can see that diplomacy is still working," the minister said.

However, according to the Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform, he also emphasized that Russia keeps making different statements.

"That's why we have the rule that we don't believe in what we hear, but in what we see," emphasized Kuleba.

Update from February 15, 10:30 a.m.:

While the Kremlin claims that some Russian units are withdrawing from the Ukrainian border, US broadcaster CNN has identified exact locations of Russian weapon systems on the Ukrainian border.

These include not only tanks and howitzers, but also submarines, landing ships and short-range ballistic missiles, as CNN reported using footage from the region.

The broadcaster geolocated some videos shared on social media.

Several convoys of tanks and howitzers were spotted in the Russian village of Sereteno, just 15 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

Dozens of convoys were also located in Voronezh, which is one of the main meeting places for Russian troops in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.

In the convoys, escorted by helicopters,

Ukraine conflict: Putin recalls some military units

First report:

According to the Kremlin, some of the Russian soldiers who have been stationed at the Ukrainian border for months have been ordered back to their home garrisons.

Units from the military districts in southern and western Russia* have "completed their duties" and will be heading back to their military bases later in the day, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said, according to Russian news agencies on Tuesday.

According to Konashenkov, preparations for this have already begun.

The Russian broadcaster RT published footage provided by the Ministry of Defense, which probably shows the return of Russian troops.

Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had informed Russian President Vladimir Putin * on Monday that some of the Russian army's controversial military maneuvers in their own country and in Belarus were coming to an end.

The massive Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine* has fueled fears of a Russian invasion of the neighboring country for weeks.

According to US information, "clearly" more than 100,000 Russian soldiers were mobilized in the border area.

A Russian naval maneuver near the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea also raised concerns.

Ukraine conflict: increased NATO troop presence in Eastern Europe - Scholz visits Moscow

In response to Russian troop movements, the West had increased its military presence in Eastern Europe.

On Monday, the first additional Bundeswehr soldiers arrived to strengthen the so-called Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) of NATO* in the EU country of Lithuania.

In total, the Bundeswehr wants to send 350 more soldiers and around 100 military vehicles to Lithuania.

So far, around 550 German soldiers are stationed in the former Soviet republic.

The Ukraine conflict* is also the focus of the visit by Chancellor Olaf Scholz* (SPD) to Putin this Tuesday in Moscow.

Scholz had already met the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj in Kiev on Monday.