প্রকাশ: 24/01/2022
NATO said on Monday it was putting forces on standby and
reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets in response to
Russia's military build-up at Ukraine's borders.
The move added to a flurry of signals that the West is
bracing for an aggressive Russian move against Ukraine, though Moscow denies
any plan to invade.
"I welcome allies contributing additional forces to
NATO," the Western military alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg
said in a statement. "NATO will continue to take all necessary measures to
protect and defend all allies, including by reinforcing the eastern part of the
alliance."
Britain said it was withdrawing some staff and dependants
from its embassy in Ukraine in response to "a growing threat from
Russia", a day after the United States said it was ordering diplomats'
family members to leave.
"Military action by Russia could come at any
time," the US Embassy said in a statement. Officials "will not be in
a position to evacuate American citizens in such a contingency, so US citizens
currently present in Ukraine should plan accordingly," it added.
US diplomats at the embassy in Kyiv were being allowed to
leave voluntarily.
The tensions over Ukraine have contributed to a rise in oil,
with the latest Russia-US talks on Friday failing to produce any big
breakthrough.
Russia is demanding that NATO withdraw a promise to let
Ukraine join one day, and that the alliance pull back troops and weaponry from
former Communist countries in eastern Europe that joined it after the Cold War.
Washington says those demands are non-starters but it is
ready to discuss other ideas on arms control, missile deployments and
confidence-building measures.
The United States and the European Union have warned Russia
not to invade Ukraine. Denmark said the EU was ready to impose
"never-seen-before" economic sanctions and EU foreign ministers
meeting in Brussels said they would send a unified warning to Moscow.
Troop build-up
An estimated 100,000 Russian troops remain poised within
reach of the Ukrainian border. Russia is awaiting a written response to its
demands this week.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it
considered the US embassy move as "premature and a manifestation of
excessive caution."
"In fact, there have been no cardinal changes in the
security situation recently: the threat of new waves of Russian aggression has
remained constant since 2014 and the buildup of Russian troops near the state
border began in April last year," it said.
Britain said at the weekend it had information the Russian
government was considering a former Ukrainian lawmaker as a potential candidate
to head a pro-Russian puppet leadership in Kyiv.
The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the British
allegation as "disinformation," accusing NATO of escalating tensions
over Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the EU did not
plan to withdraw diplomats' families from Ukraine at the moment. German Foreign
Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany would remain present in Ukraine for now
but was evaluating the situation continuously.
Latvia warned its citizens not to travel to Ukraine except
in cases of "urgent necessity". Lithuania's foreign minister said the
West must make sanctions for Russia "unbearable" if it attacked
Ukraine.
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