There’s a lot of reporting this morning on Russia and Ukraine, starting with the news that Putin is now demanding that all US forces be removed from Eastern and Central Europe. He also expelled our U.S. Deputy Ambassador from Russia.
DAILY MAIL – Showing no sign he will allow tensions to subside, Vladimir Putin demanded on Thursday that the U.S. remove all of its forces from Eastern and Central Europe and expelled U.S. Deputy Ambassador Bartle Gorman from Russia.
Soon after President Biden told reporters he believes Putin will invade Ukraine ‘in a matter of days.’
This demand by Putin is reportedly a published response to the US’s security guarantees:
1/2 #Russia published its response to the U.S. on "security guarantees". #Ukraine, of course, is the stumbling block. Putin demands that the West stop supplying weapons to 🇺🇦, withdraw weapons already sent, recall all advisors and instructors, and refuse #NATO exercises with 🇺🇦.
— Alexander Khrebet/Олександр Хребет (@AlexKhrebet) February 17, 2022
2/2 #Russia is also insisting that all U.S. forces and weapons be withdrawn from Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.
— Alexander Khrebet/Олександр Хребет (@AlexKhrebet) February 17, 2022
The Daily Mail continues, quoting Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin explaining in some detail what the US is seeing in terms of Russia building up their forces for an invasion:
After Putin claimed he would withdraw forces from the Ukraine border earlier this week, Biden officials said they actually saw evidence to the contrary.
‘We see them add to the more than 150,000 troops they already have,’ Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin. ‘Even in the last couple days.’
‘We see some of those troops edge closer to that border. We see them fly in more combat and support air craft. We see them sharpen their readiness in the Black Sea. We even see them stocking up their blood supplies,’ Austin said.
‘You don’t do these things for no reason. You certainly don’t do them if you’re getting ready to pack up and go home,’ the secretary said.
Meanwhile, Biden is sending Kamala to meet with Ukraine’s president in Munich to outline the sanctions the US is ready to put on Russia when the invasion begins:
A senior administration official said that the vice president will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this weekend while at the conference. She’s expected to lay out the economic sanctions that are prepped for Russia if Vladimir Putin stages an invasion and other diplomatic paths to de-escalation.
President Biden tapped Harris with handling the high-stakes meetings last week.
‘Her reason for going to Munich is to meet with what we think is over three dozen heads of state who will be there. She will hold these highest-level meetings to consult with them,’ the official said.
Secretary of State Blinken will also be there:
Meanwhile, Sec. of State Antony Blinken switched up his plans to travel to Munich so that he could address the United Nations Security Council meeting Thursday before heading to the conference.
‘Our goal is to convey the gravity of the situation. The evidence on the ground is that Russia is moving toward an imminent invasion. This is a crucial moment. Today’s Council meeting should not distract us from that. It should focus on what is happening right now in Ukraine,’ UN Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield wrote on Twitter, announcing she’d asked Blinken to make the stop in New York.
Hostilities appear to be on edge. Reports are that there has already been artillery fire and an elementary school shelled in a city near the eastern border of Ukraine:
Artillery fire rang out in eastern Ukraine Thursday as Kiev’s forces and Moscow-backed rebels each blamed the other for the shooting, as NATO warned Russia is trying to stage a pretext for the invasion of Ukraine.
A kindergarten in the village of Stanytsia Luhanska was struck first – around 9am local time – with Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba saying rebels shelled the building which is located close to the frontline on Kiev’s side. The military said two civilians were hurt and half the settlement left without electricity.
Around an hour later Ukraine reported more shelling at Popasna – around 50 miles from Stanytsia Luhanska – saying that a school and a two nearby houses were hit. No injuries were immediately reported.
But Russian rebels attempted to flip the script, claiming Ukrainian troops had actually fired at them as pro-Kremlin social media accounts claimed the kindergarten was on their side of the frontline.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and UK defence secretary Liz Tuss both spoke out to accuse Moscow of trying to stage a false flag operation to justify an invasion – fears that worsened as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov issued a statement blaming Ukraine for the attacks and calling for Kiev to step back.
‘This is a matter of very deep concern,’ Peskov said on Thursday morning. ‘We hope that our opponents from Western capitals, from Washington, from NATO, will use all their influence to warn the Kiev authorities against further escalation.’
Lastly, there was smoke pouring out of the Russian embassy in Kyiv this morning:
JUST IN 🚨 Smoke seen rising from the Russian embassy in Kyiv – reports pic.twitter.com/GkPBW7v17S
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) February 17, 2022
This suggests that Russian diplomats are burning sensitive documents before they evacuate the country. Not a good sign.