© STR
Ukrainian soldiers on exercise, February 21, 2022.
In summary :
– Vladimir Putin stepped up his threats into Ukrainian territory on Tuesday, as Westerners tried to define an appropriate response.
– Between extreme firmness of tone and graduated sanctions, Joe Biden unveiled Tuesday evening the content of its response to the start of a Russian invasion in Ukraine.
– The EU, Japan, the United States, Canada… Since Tuesday morning, a whole series of countries have announced economic sanctions against Moscow.
Calendar. the “penalty package” adopted by the EU will come into force on Wednesday evening, or Thursday, declared the French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune at the microphone of France Inter.
Ukraine announces the mobilization of its reserves. The Ukrainian armed forces announced a plan to mobilize reservists on Wednesday amid fears of a military escalation by Moscow. “The mobilization will concern reservists aged 18 to 60”, said the Ukrainian ground forces on Facebook. According to the BBC, people ignoring the call could face a “criminal liability” and experts would estimate that around 900,000 people would be affected.
Putin “tore up his pledge”. At the microphone of France Inter, Clément Beaune returned on the (upset) role of negotiator played by Macron in the crisis. This position, strongly criticized by the opposition, was necessary according to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs: “Shouldn’t we try to find a diplomatic path and avoid war?”, he says. Before adding: “There was, I believe, a firm agreement from Mr Putin, he spoke until more than one o’clock in the morning on the night of Sunday to Monday. Simply Mr Putin has torn up his engagement.”
.@CBeaune on the criticisms against Emmanuel Macron: “Should we not do anything? Shouldn’t we try to find a diplomatic path and avoid war?”
#le79inter pic.twitter.com/iSKZar7yKt
– France Inter (@franceinter) February 23, 2022
Ukrainians urged to leave Russia. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday called on its nationals to leave Russia as soon as possible, due to the risk of military escalation by Moscow. “The ministry recommends that Ukrainian nationals refrain from all travel to Russia and those who are already there to leave the territory immediately”Ukrainian diplomacy said in a statement.
Cyberattacks: banks called to vigilance. The European banking supervisory system has called on European banks to increase their vigilance against the risks of cyberattacks in the context of the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, according to the Governor of the Banque de France François Villeroy de Galhau. “We are obviously monitoring geopolitical developments and their possible economic and financial implications very closely”he declared at the opening of the three-day Eurofi seminar organized within the framework of the French presidency of the European Union in Paris.
Bruno Le Maire waves the stick. Invited on BFMTV-RMC, the Minister of the Economy assured that the wave of sanctions that fell yesterday was only an appetizer. “We reserve the possibility of inflicting much more penalizing sanctions on Russia if Vladimir Putin persists in violating international laws”he hammers.
Bruno Le Maire (@BrunoLeMaire): “We have in reserve a battery of infinitely more penalizing sanctions” against Russia pic.twitter.com/8yTwjK9p41
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) February 23, 2022
Kiev, the next step? Liz Truss, British Foreign Secretary, believes it is “highly probable” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is positioning his pawns to invade Ukraine and, in particular, its capital Kiev. “We believe it is highly likely that he will carry out his plan for a total invasion of Ukraine”, said Liz Truss on the Sky News television channel. She advised the British to leave Ukraine.
“Highly likely” Putin will move on Kyiv, warns Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, as she advises British citizens to leave Ukraine while commercial flights are still available.https://t.co/Ju7ldmfyHS
???? Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/1tFxLUmZ9a
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 23, 2022
Sanctions “ineffective” ? Interviewed on RTL, the MEP and suspended member of the national office of the RN Nicolas Bay reacted the sanctions put in place by the EU against Russia. “They are as ineffective as the previous sanctions have been”, he explains, referring to the measures taken in March 2014 after the annexation of Crimea. The latter led, according to him, to “Russia is embargoing our food products, which has heavily penalized European agriculture”. They would also have pushed “Russia in the arms of China”. Finally, they would have brought Russia from “develop a number of its sectors”.
#Ukraine : “we can clearly see the docile alignment of European institutions and chancelleries with American interests”, @NicolasBay_ in #RTLMatin with Yves Calvi pic.twitter.com/epBkt0AXkr
— RTL France (@RTLFrance) February 23, 2022
Venezuela ranks behind Russia. “Venezuela is with Putin”assures Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “Venezuela is with Putin, he is with Russia. It (Venezuela) is with the courageous and just causes in the world”President Maduro said on television during the Council of Ministers.
Blinken won’t see Lavrov on Thursday. The hope ofa summit between the United States and Russia decreases. The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken announced that he would not meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov as planned. “Now that we see the invasion has started and Russia has clearly rejected all diplomacy, it makes no sense to meet at this stage”said Antony Blinken during a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
After the EU and the United States, Canada and Japan sanction. And youBoth are aiming at the same target: the economy. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a ban on Canadians performing “any foreign transaction” with the pro-Russian separatist territories of Lugansk and Donetsk, impose sanctions on Russian parliamentarians who voted in favor of the “illegal decision to recognize these territories” and “ban Canadians from participating in purchases of Russian debt”. On the Japanese side, the sanctions include banning trade with pro-Russian regions, freezing the assets of people linked to “two so-called republics” as well as the ban on issuing them visas.
Putin: finding “diplomatic solutions”… but without negotiating. Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Wednesday on the character “non-negotiable” interests and security of his country, boasting of his military capabilities while saying he is willing to find “diplomatic solutions” in the crisis with Ukraine. “Our country is always open to direct and honest dialogue to find diplomatic solutions to the most complex problems”said Vladimir Putin in a televised speech on the occasion of the “Day of the Defender of the Fatherland”. “However, the interests and security of our citizens are non-negotiable for us”continued the Russian president, who is asking Westerners for guarantees such as the promise that Ukraine will never join NATO and the end of the reinforcement of the Alliance on its borders.