Ukrainian defense chief: "keep calm, Russia will not invade"

After the White House warning of the imminent dispatch of troops to Eastern Europe, the Ukrainian chief of staff called for calm. He was echoed by the Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov who, in front of the parliament, said: "There is no need to pack up today, there is no reason to believe that Russia will invade Ukraine".

At the moment "the tactic of calming the population seems to work ", The Wall Street Journal reports: "there were no bank runs. The currency has lost only a small value against the US dollar and compared to previous crises where citizens abandoned their homes as a precaution, today we can breathe more calm ”.

However, Reznikov to The Associated Press last night admitted that there are "risky scenarios" for a likely future Russian military escalation. While other Ukrainian officials, such as National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov, are less confident that Russia will invade: "The massing of Russian troops on the eastern borders is not as fast as in the past and as some claim ”.

On the issue of US troops on maximum alert (8.500 units) ready to respond to a series of contingencies, including support for the NATO Response Force, if anything, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said: "our preparation for the worst is clear because the Russians, at this moment, have no intention of reducing the escalation ".

In this regard, a senior officer of the Marine Corps wanted to clarify to the press that no marines are among the 8.500 soldiers placed on alert.

In fact, the convocation of the aforementioned contingent is based on other Western responses to Russian moves, reports Tara Copp of Defense One. We must not forget that in the coming days, as announced by the Pentagon, there will be large-scale naval exercises in the Mediterranean, in which the aircraft carrier Truman will also participate. In the meantime, England has also already sent tanks and troops to NATO nations close to Ukraine.

Speaking of tanks and opportunities, top GOP House lawmakers want to rush a possible sale of 250 Abrams tanks to Poland, Defense News reported on Monday.

Parallel to the diplomatic commitments of NATO, the US and the EU, the French president Emmanuel Macron he wants to try his hand at mediation between Moscow and Kiev, calling a meeting with the presidents of both countries this week in Paris.

Marinas in comparison in the Mediterranean. Moscow has announced that an unprecedented fleet will be concentrated in the Mediterranean. Six ships are arriving from the Baltic for landing operations: they can carry 60 tanks and 1.800 infantry to the beach, protecting them with cannons and rockets. If they reached the Black Sea, they could offer the Russians the ability to assault the Ukrainian coast, thus completing the encirclement on the coast as well. By doing so, the military grip would tighten all the borders of Kiev, except the western ones. There are four Kremlin units: the Grigorivich fighter and three 9 Burya-class frigates, equipped with Kalibr long-range hypersonic missiles. While there are three Russian attack submarines employed, the Kilo, with extremely quiet engines capable of easily evading NATO's sonar. 

Il Pentagoninstead, it sent the aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean Truman to support the 154th Fleet, escorted by a cruiser, four fighters and a Norwegian frigate. The fully autonomous US forces are capable of supporting attacks in Ukraine with seventy planes, with a simple order from the White House without the support or advice of the Allies. Washington then advertised on a Twitter profile one of its nuclear submarines off the coast of Cyprus, the USS Georgia with XNUMX cruise missiles on board.

Two massive exercises are planned between Greece and Lebanon in the next few days. On the one hand there will be Russian ships on the other ships engaged in the NATO exercise "Neptune Strike". Another one will follow: the "Mission Clemenceau 22"French-led, always in the Eastern Mediterranean and with even three aircraft carriers: the Truman, the De Gaulle and the Italian Cavour with an interforce group of F35-B of the Navy and Air Force on board.

Cavour aircraft carrier bridge

Ukrainian defense chief: "keep calm, Russia will not invade"