Tag: Russia

Powerful Gas Pipeline Explosion Rocks Eastern Ukraine; Biden “Convinced By Intel” Putin Has Decided To Invade

(Update 5:30pm ET): Shortly after images of the gas pipeline explosion was reaching social media, President Biden appeared behind the lectern at The White House (an hour late) to tell the world that he’s “convinced” that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to launch a further invasion in Ukraine, including an assault on its capital, Kyiv.

After weeks of saying the U.S. wasn’t sure if Putin had made the final decision to launch a widespread invasion, Biden said that assessment had changed, citing “significant intelligence capability.”

“As of this moment I’m convinced he’s made the decision,” Biden said.

“We have reason to believe that.” He reiterated that it could occur in the “coming days.”

“We believe they will target Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million innocent people,” he said of Russian forces.

But with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken scheduled to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday, Biden said there is still time for negotiations to defuse the crisis.

“Diplomacy is always a possibility,” he said.

Meanwhile, US officials  are also convinced that Russia was responsible for the DDOS attacks in Ukraine this week

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Russia Says It Chased US Submarine Out Of Its Territorial Waters

Russia’s military on Saturday announced it had chased a US submarine from Russian waters in the far east, near the Pacific Kuril islands. Likely it will be contested by the Pentagon side that the submarine was ever in “Russian waters”, however, as the region is also claimed by Japan.

According to Reuters, “The Russian military said on Saturday it used ‘appropriate means’ to make a U.S. submarine leave Russian waters in the far east after the vessel ignored a Russian request to leave, Interfax news agency reported.”

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Russia issues warning to US Another round of negotiations between Moscow and Washington on Ukraine has been held ahead of crucial talks

Another round of Russia-US negotiations on the Ukraine crisis, on Saturday, saw Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warn his American counterpart, Antony Blinken against a “propaganda campaign” over an alleged plan by Moscow to attack Ukraine.

Both foreign and defense ministers of the two countries held phone conversations over “security issues of mutual interest,” ahead of crucial talks between the presidents of Russia and the US, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, in the evening.

According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lavrov stressed that “the propaganda campaign launched by the United States and its allies about ‘Russian aggression’ against Ukraine pursues provocative goals,” which, in his opinion, involved encouraging Kiev “to sabotage the Minsk agreements,” as well as “harmful attempts to resolve the ‘Donbass problem’ by force.”

The foreign minister also said the US and NATO ignored key provisions of the Russian proposals for European security, including a ban on the alliance’s eastward expansion.

“It was emphasized that these issues would be a focus point of our review of the documents received from the US and NATO, which will be brought to the attention of colleagues,” the foreign ministry said following the conversation, which was initiated by the American side.

“I spoke with Foreign Minister Lavrov today to urge a diplomatic resolution to Russia’s unprovoked military build-up around Ukraine. I reiterated that further Russian aggression would be met with a resolute, massive, and united Transatlantic response,” Blinken said on Twitter.

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Ukraine replies to Russian demands The Ukrainian foreign minister has accused Russia of making “unacceptable” demands

Russia’s demands for security guarantees are not a starting point for discussion and negotiation, but are instead plunging the European continent into a “deep security crisis,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said on Thursday.

Speaking virtually to the French Institute of International Relations, Kuleba called on Kiev’s Western allies to be united against Moscow.

Last year, Russia sent the US and NATO a list of demands in the form of two draft treaties, seeking legally binding guarantees from Washington and Brussels over the future of European security. These include an end to NATO’s eastwards expansion, the withdrawal of troops, and an end to the deployment of strike missiles near Russia’s borders.

“The ultimatums issued by the Kremlin, now in the form of documents, simply do not comprise acceptable solutions,” Kuleba said. “Requirements to take or not take some countries into NATO, to withdraw troops from the Alliance’s territory, are unacceptable. This is not a starter for a discussion. It is a loaded revolver put on the table.”

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US military attache summoned to Russian Defense Ministry over submarine incident Virginia-class US nuclear-powered submarine was detected on Saturday morning near the Pacific Fleet’s drills near Urup Island of the Kuril Chain

MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry has summoned a US military attache over the incident with Virginia-class US nuclear-powered submarine detected on Saturday morning near the Pacific Fleet’s drills near Urup Island of the Kuril Chain.

“The attache for defense issues at the US Embassy in Moscow has been summoned to the Russian Defense Ministry in connection with the violation of the Russian state border by the US Navy’s submarine,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, a Virginia-class submarine belonging to the US Navy was detected on February 12, 2022 at 10.40 (Moscow Time).

Under the guiding documents on protection of the Russian state border in the underwater environment, the crew of the Pacific Fleet’s frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov used appropriate means. The US submarine started a self-propelled simulator to split the target image on radar and acoustic control means into two parts and retreated from Russian territorial waters at a maximum speed, the ministry said.

The Pacific Fleet’s ships continue scheduled drills, including to ensure control in the underwater environment and thwart violations of Russia’s state border.

NATO to boost troops on high alert sevenfold in response to Russian invasion of Ukraine

Jens Stoltenberg says Russia has “chosen confrontation instead of dialogue”.(AP: Virginia Mayo)

NATO will boost its number of troops on high alert by more than sevenfold to over 300,000, the alliance’s secretary-general says, as it prepares to adopt a new stance describing Moscow as a direct threat.

Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine has sparked a major geopolitical shift in the West, prompting once neutral countries Finland and Sweden to apply to join NATO and Ukraine to secure the status of candidate to join the European Union.

“Russia has walked away from the partnership and the dialogue that NATO has tried to establish with Russia for many years,” NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels ahead of a NATO summit in Madrid later this week.

“They have chosen confrontation instead of dialogue. We regret that, but of course then we need to respond to that reality.”

The June 28 to 30 NATO summit comes at a pivotal moment for the alliance after failures in Afghanistan and internal discord during the era of former US president Donald Trump, who threatened to pull Washington out of the alliance.

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Ukrainian Seminary President: Almost 400 Baptist Churches in Ukraine Wiped Out by Russian Invasion

Hundreds of Baptist churches in Ukraine have been wiped out since Russia’s invasion of the country began almost six months ago, according to the president of the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary (UBTS).

Yaroslav Pyzh told Baptist Press about “400 Ukrainian Baptist congregations have been lost” since the war began on Feb. 24. It’s not just buildings that have been destroyed, but church leadership and congregations have been broken down.

Pyzh said although volunteers are helping displaced people fix their homes, the real challenge is to rebuild pastoral leadership in war-torn cities.

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New intel suggests Russia is prepared to launch an attack before the Olympics end, sources say From CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis, Kylie Atwood and Jim Sciutto

The US and its allies have new intelligence that suggests Russia could launch an attack on Ukraine even before the end of the Olympics, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

Previous assessments had suggested that Russia was unlikely to move into Ukraine until after the Olympics end on Feb. 20, US officials had told CNN in the past. The revelation of the new intelligence comes as administration officials have dramatically ramped up the urgency of their public warnings related to Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine “could begin at any time,” including during the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the United States continues “to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border.”

Kyiv is among the targets identified in the Russian planning, three sources familiar with the new intelligence tell CNN.

There are ongoing conversations within the administration about declassifying some of that new intelligence, which two US officials said may come later on Friday.

President Biden on Friday morning was set to hold a call with NATO and European allies to discuss the latest intelligence, a White House official told CNN. A European defense official said the North Atlantic Council will be discussing the situation and the new intelligence in a meeting later Friday.

Biden also joined a meeting of his top national security advisers Thursday evening in the White House Situation Room to discuss the crisis, a person familiar with the meeting said.

When asked about new intelligence, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian defense minister said that such warnings have been heard already.

“Again? These statements have already been heard,” Iryna Zolotar, press secretary for Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, told CNN.

CNN’s Alex Marquardt and Mick Krever contributed reporting to this post.

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Donbass Militia Reports Presence of Ukrainian S-300s, Artillery and Foreign Mercs Near Front Line

At the same time that Western officials and media have accused Russia of preparing to “invade” Ukraine, the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk republics have reported on movements of Ukrainian military equipment and troops near the line of contact in the region’s frozen civil war.
New troops, Ukrainian S-300 missile systems, rocket artillery and foreign mercenaries have been spotted near the frontline separating Kiev forces and the People’s Militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), militia spokesman Eduard Basurin has reported.
“The command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, under the cover of an exercise, has begun the transfer units of the 92nd separate mechanized brigade from the Kharkiv region to the [conflict zone],” Basurin said, speaking to reporters on Friday. “The arrival of the brigade’s operational groups has been noted in the area of responsibility of the 30thSeparate Mechanized Brigade in the direction of Debaltseve,” the spokesman said.

US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Block Military Aid to Ukraine Until Southern Border Secured

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – American lawmakers introduced a bill to block military aid to Ukraine until the US southern border is secured, Rep. Matt Rosendale said on Tuesday.
“Today, Representative Rosendale introduced the Secure America’s Borders First Act. This bill would prohibit the U.S. government from providing military and security assistance to Ukraine until the border wall system on the southern border is completed, and operational control of the southern border is achieved,” the statement said.
The Republican lawmaker’s bill is co-sponsored by Representatives Andy Biggs, Bob Good, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Jody Hice, Mary Miller, Ralph Norman, Bill Posey, and Randy Weber.