WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden is willing to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin “at any time” to prevent a war in Ukraine, according to his top diplomat who said Sunday Russia appeared on the verge of invading its neighbor. In a rapid-fire round of US talk shows, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN “everything we’re seeing suggests that this is dead serious, that we are on the brink of an invasion.” […]
Tag: Russia
Hundreds rally for Ukraine at Warsaw demo
WARSAW, Poland (AFP) — Hundreds of people rallied in the Old Town in central Warsaw on Sunday in solidarity with neighbouring Ukraine against what they called “Russian aggression”. Participants waved Ukrainian, Polish and EU flags as well as the standard used by the Belarusian opposition. “We Are With Ukraine,” read one placard held up at the demonstration. Another said: “Hands Off Ukraine.” “Putin on trial!” the crowd chanted. Organisers said in a statement that the […]
Ukraine rebel leaders announce ‘general mobilisation’
The leaders of Ukraine’s two breakaway regions announced a general mobilisation Saturday, spurring fears of a further escalation in fighting in the ex-Soviet country. The announcements came after observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported a significant rise in attacks on the frontline in parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian rebels. The two sides accused each other Saturday morning of fresh attacks. “I urge my fellow citizens who are in […]
Biden says Putin has decided to invade Ukraine
WASHINGTON, Feb 18, 2022 (AFP) – President Joe Biden said Friday he is “convinced” that Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine within the week, an event that would trigger Western sanctions set to turn Russia into what a US official called a “pariah.” “As of this moment I’m convinced he’s made the decision,” Biden said in televised remarks at the White House. Biden said the attack could come in the next “week” or “days” […]
Oil pipeline blast in key rebel Ukraine city: reports
KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — An international oil pipeline running through a key rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine blew up on Friday, Russian media said, with images showing a fireball lighting up the night sky. The blast rocked the Druzhba pipeline in the Russian-backed separatist city of Lugansk, Russia’s RIA Novosti state news agency said. The incident, the causes of which remain unclear, occurred during a sharp escalation in fighting that has redoubled fears that Russia […]
Russia says it is withdrawing military forces from near Ukraine
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Friday it had begun withdrawing more tanks and other armoured vehicles from areas near Ukraine’s border after running war games that had raised concerns in the West. “Another military train carrying personnel and military equipment belonging to tank army units of the western military district returned to their permanent bases in the Nizhny Novgorod region after completing scheduled exercises,” the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. Separately, […]
US challenges Russia to step back from Ukraine attack
by Sebastian Smith with Michael Mainville in Moscow and Dave Clark in Kyiv Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The United States said Thursday that Russia is on the verge of unleashing a massive military attack against Ukraine, dismissing Moscow’s claim to be pulling forces back, as artillery fire hit a Ukrainian kindergarten. In a dramatic, previously unscheduled speech to the United Nations in New York, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said […]
Russia risking European peace with ‘Cold War demands’, says Berlin
MUNICH, Germany (AFP) – Russia is putting Europe’s security at risk with demands that hark back to the Cold War, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Friday, ahead of the annual Munich Security Conference set to be dominated by the Ukraine crisis. “With an unprecedented deployment of troops on the border with Ukraine and Cold War demands, Russia is challenging fundamental principles of the European peace order,” Baerbock said in a statement. Moscow needs to […]
US accuses Russia of deploying thousands more troops to Ukraine border
by Aurélia END with David CLARK in Kyiv Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The United States on Wednesday dismissed reports that Russia was withdrawing troops from Ukraine’s border, instead accusing Moscow of sending more soldiers as fears of an invasion grow. Russia has increased its presence on the border with Ukraine by “as many as 7,000 troops,” some of whom arrived Wednesday, said a senior White House official, slamming Moscow’s announcement of […]
Russia announces end of Crimea military drills, troops leaving
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – Russia on Wednesday said military drills in Moscow-annexed Crimea had ended and that soldiers were returning to their garrisons, a day after it announced a first troop pullback from Ukraine’s borders. “Units of the Southern Military District, having completed their participation in tactical exercises, are moving to their permanent deployment points,” Moscow’s defence ministry said in a statement. State television showed images of military units crossing a bridge linking the Russia-controlled […]
Nord Stream 2 ‘in all our interests’: France’s Engie
PARIS, France (AFP) – French energy giant Engie warned Tuesday that a conflict between Russia and Ukraine would be “bad news” for Europe’s gas supplies and defended the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline as being “in all our interests”. Engie is one of five European partners in the massive Russian pipeline running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The pipeline, which has been completed but is still awaiting regulatory approval in Germany, has […]
German chancellor to meet Putin as Ukraine’s fate in the balance
by Anna SMOLCHENKO Agence France-Presse MOSCOU, Russia (AFP) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due in Moscow Tuesday in search of a diplomatic solution to avoid a war in Ukraine as the West and Russia signalled tentative hopes of an easing in the tense standoff. His talks with Vladimir Putin are the latest in an intense diplomatic scramble to dissuade the Russian leader from attacking his ex-Soviet neighbour Ukraine. Western leaders consider the Russian troop […]





