++ Ukraine crisis: military maneuvers with nuclear missiles – Russia gives details

The Ukraine conflict continues to escalate – the international situation in the news ticker.

>>> Update news ticker <<<

+++ 1.30 p.m.: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has warned of mass refugee movements in Europe in view of the growing tensions in the Ukraine conflict. “If Russia invades Ukraine further, Poland could see tens of thousands of displaced Ukrainians and other people pouring across its border trying to save themselves and their families from the horrors of war,” Austin said on Freita in Warsaw after meeting with Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. But there is still “time and space for diplomacy,” added the Pentagon chief.

Poland’s interior minister announced last week that the regional administrations in his country were preparing to take in refugees and prepare emergency shelters. Mariusz Blaszczak said Poland is ready to help those forced to leave Ukraine in an attack.

The situation in the international conflict remains tense. Ukraine is currently assuming around 150,000 Russian soldiers at the border.

Ukraine crisis: Russia gives new details on nuclear weapons exercises

+++ 12.45 p.m.: According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the military maneuver to test nuclear weapons was planned in advance. According to the Kremlin, Russia tests missiles several times a year.

Kremlin spokesman Peskov said with regard to the test that there was no reason for concern abroad. A number of exercises are currently underway, “which are absolutely transparent for specialists from other countries,” said Peskow.

Ukraine crisis: military maneuvers by Russia – “It will be terrible”

+++ 12.07 p.m.: In view of the escalating crisis on the Russian-Ukrainian border, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to travel to Munich for the security conference. This was announced by the seat of government Downing Street on Friday (February 18, 2022). Secretary of State Liz Truss and Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace have also announced their attendance. Johnson is expected to arrive in Munich on Saturday (02/19/2022).

The heads of state and government of the USA, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Poland and Romania as well as representatives of the EU and NATO wanted to discuss the crisis in a telephone call on Friday.

According to a report in the Times, the British government expects that a Russian attack on Ukraine could be imminent. According to the report, Russian President Vladimir Putin made the decision to do so in the last 24 hours, according to British security experts. “He will do it and it will be terrible,” the paper quoted an unnamed government official as saying.

Meanwhile, Russia has announced further military maneuvers. The planned exercise will include testing “strategic” ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to various news outlets. The aim is to test the reliability of the “strategic nuclear weapons”.

Fighting again in eastern Ukraine: It is unclear whether there were any casualties

+++ 11.20 a.m.: According to the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatist troops, there were renewed attacks in eastern Ukraine on Friday (February 18, 2022). In statements, both sides blamed each other for violations of the current ceasefire.

The insurgents in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions said that since midnight several dozen shells had been fired on their own territory. Compared to the previous day, the shelling had been significantly intensified. Two substations were damaged. The Ukrainian army also spoke of almost two dozen violations of the ceasefire. According to the German Press Agency (dpa), this information could not be checked independently. It is currently not known whether there were any dead or injured.

Ukraine crisis: Russia announces military maneuvers

+++ 10.45 a.m.: Russia has announced military maneuvers involving “strategic” armed forces for Saturday (02/18/2022). According to various news agencies, President Vladimir Putin will oversee the planned exercise with “strategic” ballistic and cruise missiles as “Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army”. The aim is to test the reliability of strategic nuclear weapons.

Battles in Ukraine: Is Russia looking for a “pretext”?

+++ 10.00 a.m.: On Thursday (02/17/2022) pro-Russian separatist groups and Ukrainian state troops accused each other of opening fire on each other. Among other things, the USA accused Russia of wanting to find a “pretext” for an invasion. In a joint press conference with the Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz* Vladimir Putin previously spoke of a “genocide” in eastern Ukraine.

Observers from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) reported shelling in Donbass to the Reuters news agency on Thursday morning. Ukraine denied the separatists’ claims, saying that the pro-Russian troops shelled a kindergarten near Luhansk* and injured two teachers.

“The Ukrainian village of Stanytsia Luhanska was shelled with heavy weapons from the occupied territory of Donbass. Damaged civilian infrastructure. We call on all partners to swiftly condemn this gross violation of the Minsk accords by Russia amid an already tense security environment,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.

After incidents in eastern Ukraine: Kremlin in “very great concern”

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic declared on its Telegram channel that the situation had “severely escalated”. “The enemy is making attempts to unleash active hostilities,” the statement said. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the claims from Donetsk “disturbing” and “a matter of very serious concern.”

“We hope that our opponents from the western capitals, from Washington, from NATO will use all their influence to warn the Kiev government against further escalation,” Peskov said.

Ukraine crisis: Bundeswehr Eurofighters land on the Black Sea

Update from Friday, February 18, 2022, 9 a.m.: Three Bundeswehr Eurofighters arrived at a military airfield in Romania on Thursday. They are to take part in a two-week air force exercise to protect NATO’s south-eastern flank. According to the Bundeswehr, machines and crew were largely integrated into an Italian Eurofighter contingent. The military exercise is intended to contribute to international preparations for a Russian invasion in the Ukraine conflict.

Ukraine crisis: Blinken outlines possible Russian attack plans in the UN Security Council

Blinken described Russia’s possible course of action in the conflict and in the event of a possible invasion. The pretext could be a terrorist attack in Russia, the discovery of a mass grave, a staged drone attack on civilians or a “fake – or even real – attack with chemical weapons,” Der Spiegel quoted the US Secretary of State as saying.

First report from Friday, February 18, 2022, 6 a.m.: Munich/Brussels – The ongoing Ukraine crisis was the only topic at the UN Security Council meeting on Thursday (February 17, 2022). US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also made a stopover in New York on his way to the Munich Security Conference. He again explained how an attack pretext could be constructed: “This could be a violent event that Russia will bring against Ukraine, or an outrageous accusation that Russia will bring against the Ukrainian government.”

In his speech, which lasted about 15 minutes, Blinken also explained Russia’s possible course of action in the event of an invasion. “Communication networks are blocked. Cyber ​​attacks will paralyze key Ukrainian institutions. After that, Russian tanks and soldiers will advance to key targets,” Der Spiegel quoted the US Secretary of State as saying. However, he is not on the Security Council to start a war, but to prevent one.

Ukraine crisis: Russia rejects allegations

At Thursday’s meeting, Antony Blinken called on Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin to explain to the world in the Security Council that Russia would not invade Ukraine. He was unimpressed by the allegations from the United States. “We have speculated enough about it,” Vershinin said, according to Spiegel. The scenarios described by Blinken are nothing but a provocation. “Stop this hysteria about Russian aggression,” he also said after the meeting. Der Spiegel quotes him as saying that it is Russia’s “sovereign right” to move troops on its own territory.

The US has previously warned that Russia could fabricate a pretext to justify an attack on Ukraine. What is new, however, is the detailed description of blinking in a public forum. Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations.

(ms/tu/nak with AFP/dpa/rtr) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

Rubric list image: © Yuri Smityuk via www.imago-images.de