Putin Says Kyiv Should Talk to Separatists: Ukraine Update
Photographer: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photos
The U.S. said Russia has massed as many as 190,000 personnel – including troops, National Guard units and Russian-backed separatists – in and around Ukraine in what it called the most significant military mobilization since World War II.
Russia told the U.S. this week it has no plans to attack, and its officials have repeatedly dismissed U.S. warnings about a possible invasion as “hysteria” and propaganda. The buildup has sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity: U.S. President Joe Biden will speak with transatlantic leaders on Friday, while Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke with U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin by phone.
Citing escalations in the breakaway Donbas region of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Kyiv to “sit down at the negotiating table” with separatist leaders “and agree on political, military, economic and humanitarian measures to end the conflict.” The government in Kyiv refuses to negotiate with the Russia-backed separatists.
Key Developments
All times CET:
Separatists Say Car Blown Up in Donetsk: Interfax (5:53 p.m.)
Separatist officials said a car blew up outside the main government building in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Friday evening but there were no immediate reports of injuries. The local police chief said the vehicle belonged to him and he was not hurt, Russia’s Interfax reported.
Putin Orders Aid For Those Who Leave Donbas: Interfax (5:45 p.m.)
Putin ordered his government to provide assistance for people leaving the Russian-backed separatist regions of Donbas in eastern Ukraine, Interfax reported. He told officials to help the Rostov Region, where people would arrive, to accommodate them. Each resident of the separatist areas who comes will get a one-time payment of 10,000 rubles ($130), Tass reported.
It comes after authorities in the separatist regions called on civilians to leave, citing what they said was heightened risk of attack by the Ukrainian military. Officials in Kyiv said they had no intention to use force in the areas. Each side has blamed the other for a surge in cease-fire violations near the line of contact in recent days.
Russian President Says He Ignores U.S. Claims (4:36 p.m.)
Putin said he “didn’t pay attention” to accusations by the U.S. and its allies that Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine as soon as this week. “We’re doing what we think we should be doing and we’ll continue to do that,” he said at a Moscow news conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Russia isn’t opposed to continuing talks on security proposals put forward by the U.S., but Washington is still ignoring Moscow’s key demands on NATO, he said. At the least the dialogue for now is set to continue, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreeing to meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Europe next week.
Market Volatility Persists Ahead of Weekend (4:30 p.m.)
Financial markets continue to swing with every twist and turn in the standoff. The S&P 500 rebounded from earlier losses in what’s expected to be a very volatile session with the expiry of $2.2 trillion in options potentially exacerbating moves on Friday.
Treasury 10-year yields remained below 2%. Oil was on pace for its first weekly decline in two months, despite disruption worries if energy comes onto the table for any sanctions on Russia.
Ukraine Separatists to Send Women, Children to Russia (4:10 p.m.)
Children, women and elderly people will start to leave for Russia due to an escalation in fighting along the line of contact with Ukrainian forces, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said.
The separatists have an agreement with the government of the neighboring Russian region of Rostov to host people, Denis Pushilin said in remarks posted on the separatists’ Donetsk News Agency website. Leonid Pasechnik in Luhansk, another self-proclaimed republic, also urged non-fighters to leave the region for Russia.
Ukraine’s military chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said the army doesn’t plan any offensive operations and that its actions have been defensive. Kyiv has repeatedly said it doesn’t intend to attack separatist-controlled areas.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has observed a spike in violence in the Donbas region this week, recording about three times the average number of cease-fire violations on Wednesday.
Harris in Munich Vows to Stay Close to Allies (1:55 p.m.)
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called the situation in Ukraine “a dynamic moment in time” and vowed to stay close to allies, checking in hourly, if necessary.
In her first public remarks since arriving in Germany for the Munich Security Conference, Harris stressed support for NATO in a meeting with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Harris said the U.S. backs diplomacy with Russia, “but we are also committed to taking corrective actions to ensure there will be severe consequences” if Putin decided to invade Ukraine. Moscow denies any intention to attack.
U.S. Sees Biggest Military Mobilization in Europe Since WWII (12:50 p.m.)
The U.S. estimates Russia has massed between 169,000 and 190,000 personnel in and around Ukraine, including separatists in breakaway regions in Donbas, the head of its mission to the OSCE said at a meeting in Vienna.
The number of personnel has risen from 100,000 on Jan. 30, according to Ambassador Michael Carpenter. The count includes forces in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Russia did not attend the meeting and maintains it is free to deploy troops on its territory as it sees fit. Moscow denies arming the separatist regions.
Scholz to Host G-7 Talks Next Week (11:35 a.m.)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will host virtual talks with his Group of Seven counterparts on Thursday and discuss issues including the situation on Ukraine’s eastern border. Germany currently holds the group’s presidency and next week’s talks are also part of preparations for June’s summit in Bavaria, spokesman Wolfgang Buechner said.
Putin to Monitor Missile Launches on Saturday (10:55 a.m.)
Putin will observe drills of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces on Saturday that include launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the drills routine and said they don’t fuel tensions. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is in Moscow for talks, may accompany Putin to the Defense Ministry command center to watch the launches, Peskov said.
Russia is also planning live-fire exercises Saturday as part of the biggest joint maneuvers with Belarus in years. The drills are being closely watched by Ukraine and the West amid fears of an invasion.
Lithuanian Leader Says Peaceful Resolution Possible (10:45 a.m.)
“I still believe in the peaceful solution of this conflict,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in an interview with Bloomberg TV, referring to the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. “There are a lot of rumors, we should probably stay calm.”
The Russian buildup of forces near Ukraine is likely part of a plan by Putin to “get a better, stronger negotiating position,” he said.
The U.S. has ramped up warnings of a possible Russian attack, although Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Friday that the risk of a full-scale invasion is low.
Germany Regrets Russia to Skip Munich Conference (7 a.m.)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said it’s regrettable that no Russian representatives will attend the Munich Security Conference that starts Friday.
The Munich conference is an annual event to discuss transatlantic security issues. The U.S. delegation includes Harris and Blinken, who will take part in a Q&A with Baerbock on Friday afternoon. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is scheduled to speak on Saturday.
— With assistance by Jake Rudnitsky, Ilya Arkhipov, Aaron Eglitis, Iain Rogers, Alberto Nardelli, Gregory White, Jennifer Jacobs, Anthony Halpin, Rita Nazareth, Daryna Krasnolutska, Arne Delfs, Henry Meyer, Tugce Ozsoy, and Vladimir Kuznetsov
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