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Ukraine conflict worsens
Tensions in the Ukraine conflict are worsening. Because Russia says it started its regular winter maneuver in the south on Wednesday, some of which also take place on the border with Ukraine. 10,000 soldiers had been sent to the extensive maneuvering area, said the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. The exercise will also be held in Crimea and in a Russian region bordering the Donbass. This is particularly sensitive because Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in the Black Sea in 2014. The Ukraine, the USA and NATO expressed their concern weeks ago that Russia might attack its neighboring country. They referred to unusual Russian troop movements on the border with Ukraine. The leadership in Moscow has denied suspicions that it has plans of attack and stated that Russia has the right to move troops on its own territory. This argument is not very reassuring for Ukraine. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj has therefore called for direct talks with Russia about the worsening conflict in eastern Ukraine. But the presidential office in Moscow said that the Ukrainian leadership should not speak to Moscow, but to the pro-Russian separatists in Donbass. Pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting there for years. But Russian President Vladimir Putin also sees a need for discussion. He wants to talk to the western countries to get guarantees that NATO will not expand to the east. The meeting of NATO foreign ministers is currently taking place in Riga, Latvia. The head of EU foreign policy, Josep Borrell, spoke there on Wednesday. He assured Ukraine of the EU’s full support for its territorial integrity and sovereignty. The top EU diplomat stressed that reactions to any kind of aggression against Ukraine would be discussed at the summit.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyi calls for direct talks with Putin – Russia waves it away.