New sign of rising tensions in the Russian-Western crisis around Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched military exercises this Saturday, February 19 “strategic” involving ballistic missile fire, the Kremlin said. The spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the Russian news agencies Ria Novosti and Interfax, indicated that the exercises had started, Vladimir Putin following their progress with his counterpart and Belarusian ally Alexander Lukashenko.
► A Ukrainian soldier killed
For its part, the Ukrainian army reported this Saturday the death of a soldier, the first killed in weeks in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The officer was fatally injured by shrapnel in an area crossing two separatist regions near the Russian border. The Ukrainian State Service for Emergency Situations also announced that two of its employees had been injured the day before in a wave of attacks.
→ ANALYSIS. In eastern Ukraine, renewed violence and information warfare
The Ukrainian army accuses the rebels of firing banned 82 and 120 millimeter mortar shells from the separatist regions of Lugansk and Donetsk. It reported 66 ceasefire violations in the past 24 hours, a particularly high number compared to previous weeks.
► Mobilization in the pro-Russian camp
The leaders of the pro-Russian separatists, at war against Ukraine, for their part proclaimed on Saturday February 19 the “general mobilization”at a time when fears of a Russian attack are at their height. “I call on my fellow reservists to report to the military conscription offices. Today, I signed the decree of general mobilization”announced the head of the ” Republic “ self-proclaimed Donetsk Denis Pushilin in a video statement.
A few minutes later, Leonid Passetchnik, the leader of the ” Republic “ of Lugansk, the other separatist region in eastern Ukraine, signed a similar decree calling for the mobilization of men aged 18 to 55 in order to prepare, according to him, for “to repel an attack”. But Ukraine again repeated that it had no intention of attacking its opponents.
► An influx of refugees in Russia
Russia’s Rostov region, bordering Ukraine, declared a state of emergency on Saturday over an influx of refugees from separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, who ordered the evacuation of civilians . According to the Russian Ministry of Emergencies, nearly 400 people and 150 vehicles were involved in receiving people arriving from separatist territories.
→ READ. Ukraine: the Kremlin on an air of patriotic mobilization
Donetsk authorities said just over 6,600 people had been evacuated. The Luhansk region, for its part, indicated that 25,000 people had left voluntarily and that another 10,000 people were on the way. Russian authorities have announced that the refugees will be fed and housed, psychological and medical assistance will be provided, as well as tests and vaccines for the coronavirus.
► “Ridiculous” accusations of genocide
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Saturday a “ridiculous” the accusations of Russian President Vladimir Putin on an alleged “genocide” allegedly perpetrated against civilians in pro-Russian separatist Ukrainian territories by the Ukrainian military. The term of “genocide” had been employed by the Russian leader following an interview with Olaf Scholz in Moscow.
The US State Department had already condemned the use of the term alleged “genocide” against civilians in the Russian-speaking territories of eastern Ukraine. “We are particularly concerned that President Putin and other Russian officials are talking about a ‘genocide’ in Donbass. There is not an ounce of truth in these accusations.”said the US State Department.
► Joe Biden “convinced”of an attack
US President Joe Biden said for the first time “convinced”, Friday, February 18, which Russian President Vladimir Putin took ” decision “ to invade Ukraine and that the multiplication of clashes was aimed at creating a “false rationale” to launch the offensive ” the week “ or even ” days “ who come.
During a Saturday visit to Lithuania, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reiterated this analysis. For him, the Russian troops massed on the border of Ukraine “deploy” and “preparing to strike” this country, adding that the Russian military “move to the right positions to be able to carry out an attack”.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has threatened to strengthen NATO forces in eastern Europe in the event of an attack on Ukraine by Russia, in addition to economic sanctions “hard and fast” against Moscow. “We will not stop at economic measures. We will further reinforce our NATO allies on the eastern flank”she said during a speech at the Munich Security Conference.
► A planned call between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Poutine
Emmanuel Macron is due to speak by telephone with Vladimir Poutine on Sunday February 20. While France holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, had a telephone exchange with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. He warned him “against the consequences for Russia of any further attack on the territorial integrity of Ukraine”the French foreign ministry said in a statement. “He expressed certainty about the united response of Europeans, and their allies, to such an attack, in the form of massive sanctions”.