On Thursday, Russia began the active phase of military training in Belarus, as Britain began new diplomacy in the Ukraine stalemate, warning Moscow that going to war with its neighbor would be devastating for Russia, Ukraine, and Europe.
Officials from the United States have warned that Russia may attack Ukraine after massing troops near the country’s borders, and they have accused Moscow of inflaming tensions further by holding joint military exercises in Belarus, which NATO claims are Russia’s largest deployment to the country since the Cold War.
Russia denies any plans for an attack, claiming the right to move its soldiers as it sees fit over its own territory and those of its allies with their permission. It claims that its military drills are purely defensive in nature.
Last Monday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg predicted Russia would have 30,000 troops in Belarus, including Spetsnaz special operations forces, SU-35 fighter jets, S-400 air defense systems, and nuclear-capable Iskander missiles.
Ukraine began its own war games on Thursday, mirroring Belarus’ military exercises, which will last through February 20. They will be similar to Russia’s Allied Resolve training.
The Ukrainian troops will utilize Bayraktar drones and anti-tank Javelin and NLAW missiles given by international allies, whose numbers have not been revealed. Later on Thursday, a further cargo of US military aid was scheduled to arrive in Kyiv.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss advised Russia not to attack Ukraine during discussions in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“A conflict in Ukraine would be fundamentally devastating for the Russian and Ukrainian peoples, as well as for European security, and NATO has made it clear that any entry into Ukraine would have tremendous consequences and bear significant costs,” she said.
Moscow, according to Lavrov, is willing to improve the country’s deteriorating relations with the United Kingdom.
“Of course, the best way to normalize ties is for us to talk to each other in a courteous manner… Morality lectures, ultimatums, threats, and ideological methods are all a dead-end ” He said.
‘SNOW LINES’
Britain also wanted to use Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to NATO headquarters to highlight European solidarity as Moscow wants assurances that Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, will never be permitted to join NATO.
“As an alliance, we need to draw lines in the snow and be unambiguous about the principles we will not compromise,” Johnson added. “This covers every NATO ally’s security as well as every European democracy’s right to aspire to NATO membership.”
Some Russian specialists believe there are tentative indicators that the former KGB agent wants to avoid an escalation of the Ukraine conflict after French President Emmanuel Macron met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday.
The US and the EU have threatened Russia with penalties if it strikes Ukraine, following up on measures enacted after Russia grabbed Crimea and backed separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Dmitry Kozak, the Kremlin’s Ukraine envoy, was scheduled to meet with officials from Ukraine, Germany, and France in Berlin for the next round of negotiations on the situation in eastern Ukraine.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said the meetings would be significant and that he hoped they might reactivate the Trilateral Contact Group on the war in east Ukraine. Russia, Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a security watchdog, are all members of the group.
According to French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, agreeing to continue discussions at the talks would be a positive signal.
Six Russian vessels have landed in Sevastopol, Crimea, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014, bolstering Moscow’s Black Sea capabilities ahead of planned naval drills, according to Russian officials.
