Ukraine and Russia | Last minute withdrawal of troops and reactions, live

A preliminary poll has found that a majority of Ukrainians are in favor of holding a referendum on NATO membership, neutrality or relations with Russia.

The option that currently has the most supporters is to join the Atlantic Alliance. Thus, almost two-thirds of the Ukrainians in the model see greater economic benefits from joining the EU than Russia.

The two held a telephone conversation on Tuesday in which they said they were “very careful and vigilant” after Russia’s announcement of the withdrawal of troops.

Similarly, Elysee recalled “France’s firm and consistent commitment to upholding the sovereignty and security of its allies and allies.”

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that his government was ready to “respond” if Russia attacked the United States or its allies with “destructive cyber-attacks” against businesses or vital infrastructure.

Despite announcing the withdrawal of troops from Russia, Barbach has warned that they will not negotiate over Ukraine and that it is necessary to verify that “they are factual information or rumors”. ”.

However he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Moscow last week to meet with Vladimir Putin.

In turn, Borel says Russia should “sit at the table and discuss” if it fears its borders.

We recall that US President Joe Biden expressed his skepticism about the withdrawal of these troops and pointed out that more than 150,000 Russian troops were concentrated near the Ukrainian border.

“Navalny already received a politically motivated sentence last year when he returned to Russia after recovering abroad because he had been poisoned by Russian government agents through a neuroscientist,” Blingen said.

Navalny was poisoned by a Russian-made chemical weapon in August 2020 and accused Russian secret services of plotting to assassinate him.

Pedro Sánchez’s government has repeatedly stressed that it has committed to diplomatic channels and talks to reduce tensions between Moscow and Kiev.

This Tuesday, Defense Minister Margarita Robles acknowledged that an invasion of Ukraine could occur at any time, as “objective” facts, such as the Russian deployment, point to. However, he urged embassy channels to do so as soon as possible.

“With the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, we see a significant risk of at least partial disruption to gas supplies. For this reason, we worked hard on the commission last month to mitigate this risk,” he explains.

Brussels maintains contacts with “other reliable gas suppliers” such as the United States, Qatar, Egypt, Azerbaijan or Nigeria, mainly with liquefied natural gas.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has spoken of a “long-term adjustment” of military forces in the east, for which President Emmanuel Macron has offered to lead a new war team in Romania.

However, this sorting will not take place until spring.

The speech, released Tuesday, aims to send a “bilateral message of unity and end” to the Ukrainian people and an “equally clear warning” to the Russian president.

In turn, they insist that “Russia will pay a heavy price if Vladimir Putin intensifies his continued assault on Ukrainian sovereignty.”

“Departments of the southern military unit that have completed participation in tactical exercises in the polygonal regions of the Crimean Peninsula are heading to their permanent locations by train,” they said in a statement.

Privatbank has been the target of a major DoS attack. The center noted that there were also deficiencies in Ukraine’s State Savings Bank or Osatbank, and that the bases of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces had also been attacked.

Meanwhile, from Spain, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that “it is recommended not to travel to Ukraine, considering the volatile security situation.”

“Currently the Spaniards in the country are advised to seriously consider leaving the country temporarily on available trade routes, while the current situation persists,” it says.

He vowed to continue cooperating with his NATO allies “to prepare a set of economic measures to punish Russia if Ukraine’s sovereignty is violated.”

European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen said the Allies’ response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine would be “completely alienated and expeditious” and that sanctions against Moscow would begin “on the scale”.

Von der Leyon also discussed the issue with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, with whom the EU “works closely with the United States and Canada to tighten sanctions in the event of a Russian occupation.”

Ukraine was part of it before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. For this reason, the two countries are connected by cultural, social and historical ties.

This is one of the arguments put forward by Moscow to justify Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine.

Russia considers the current Ukrainian leaders to be carrying out an “anti-Russian program” that is closer to the EU posthumous than Russia.

In the first weeks of the expansion, Russia made a series of demands on the United States and NATO.

Not expanding the Atlantic Alliance to the East is very popular, especially indicating the access of countries like Ukraine. The organization called on Moscow to withdraw troops and equipment from the area, although all of them were rejected by NATO and the United States.

Biden assured that “the United States and NATO are not a threat to Russia” and that they have “no missiles in Ukraine” and do not plan to send them. The US president has warned that “if Russia invades Ukraine, human costs will be huge and it will do so” for no reason or cause.

He noted that the White House currently estimates that “more than 150,000” Russian troops are stationed, and that sanctions are “ready” if Russia invades Ukraine.

That is why he argues that “that is why we put forward our proposals for the negotiation process” and that they are ready to “follow the path of negotiation”.

NATO estimates that 130,000 troops are currently stationed in western Russia, and that number will begin to decline, although military exercises are still scheduled for February 20.

Good morning and welcome to the new coverage of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the reaction of the United States, the European Union and NATO.