Source: Eugene, Unsplash.
In Washington, European capitals and Moscow, the future of Ukraine remains at the forefront of a crucial effort to avoid the most dangerous international crisis since the Cold War.
In recent weeks, there has been a buildup of Russian troops east and north of Ukraine — the latest estimates are forces numbering more than 100,000, some as high as 100,188.
Fears are growing daily that Russia will move quickly to annex its Western European neighbor, following a series of recent modest incursions in Ukraine earlier this winter.
To sum up, the growing international diplomacy to prevent this:
—The United States White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned on February 6 that a Russian invasion to take over Ukraine and its 40 million people could happen “any day.” “This,” he added, “would come at an enormous human cost.”
War prevention efforts intensify
—The Associated Press says Russia “has denied any plans to attack its neighbor but demands that the United States and its allies bar Ukraine and other former Soviet nations from joining NATO, halt weapons deployments there, and roll back NATO forces from Eastern Europe.”
—The United States and NATO quickly rejected those demands. French President Macron met in Moscow earlier this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and spoke by phone with President Biden on February 6 to coordinate an approach to the crisis. Mr. Macron scheduled a visit to Ukraine on February 8 as efforts to ease the crisis intensify.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock planned to visit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on February 7, and dispatches reported she would later head to the country’s eastern border near the eastern line of contact with Russia.
Britain announced that Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will visit Moscow on February 10 and that its Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has scheduled a follow-up meeting two days later with his Russian counterparts.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) says it’s unclear if Mr. Putin will decide to invade Ukraine. She stresses that it is important for NATO, the European Union, and the United States to present a united front as a deterrent. In her view, possible legislation in Congress supporting the people of Ukraine would send a message that the cost of Russia invading their country would be high.
Senator Roger Wicker (R- Mississippi) adds: “Thirty years ago, the Red Flag of the Soviet Union was lowered for the last time as the USSR officially dissolved. Millions of Ukrainians remember what it was like under the Iron Curtain and have no desire to be subjected again to life under Moscow.”
As a 36-year veteran of the Voice of America (VOA), Alan Heil traveled to more than 40 countries a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, and later as director of News and Current Affairs, deputy director of programs, and deputy director of the nation’s largest publicly-funded overseas multimedia network. Today, VOA reaches more than 275 million people around the world each week via radio, television and online media. Read More
