The situation hangs by a thread, Moscow continues to move its troops to the eastern borders of Ukraine while Kremlin diplomacy is said to be working on a 10-page response to the US security proposal. The German Chancellor was the mediator yesterday Scholz who has favored, with his travels, the dialogue between Kiev and Moscow.
The US press, however, tells another story: Washington has announced the displacement of the remaining officials of its embassy from Kiev to Lviv - a move Zelensky called a "big mistake" - while the secretary of state Antony blinken spoke of "a dramatic acceleration"In the deployment of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine, which according to administration sources have begun to move in"attack positions", With"well over one hundred thousand"Men lined up. A deployment to which the Americans respond by continuing to strengthen the allies in the area, with eight other fighters F-15 landed at the Polish base in Lask.
Close to the invasion? The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky he announced that he had been briefed on the details of the possible invasion plan, which should take place between now and tomorrow.
What is certain is that Washington does not trust or cannot digest the possible de-escalation, it would constitute another victory for Putin because he would have succeeded in his aim, show the world the inadequacy and weakness of NATO, the EU and the USA. in the face of the Russian grip on the energy front. There have been several diplomatic interlocutors from the Western world, it has never been able to express a single position. Europe has shown, once again, that it does not have a shared and effective foreign policy due to nationalisms and domestic interests that are still very predominant, to the detriment of the common interest. Then Biden, after the failure in Afghanistan, must shore up his internal approval which has fallen to historic lows with the next midterm elections on the horizon, where the Republicans aim to take the majority in Congress.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu he said that "a part of the exercises ”of the armed forces at the gates of Europe“ is ending, another will be completed in the near future ”.
Putin remains on its positions despite diplomacy has made some steps forward: "the eastward expansion of NATO is infinite and very dangerous and takes place at the expense of the former Soviet republics, including Ukraine ". A position that the Kremlin leader will reiterate in his meeting with Scholz.
Although the question of Ukraine's entry into the Atlantic Alliance is currently "not on the agenda" Zelensky said yesterday during a press conference that Ukraine's entry into NATO "would guarantee safety " of his country. The Ukrainian president then also lashed out against the gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 considered "a geopolitical weapon" in the hands of Moscow.
Scholz, however, net of the ongoing negotiations wanted to reiterate that "in the event of military aggression, we would be ready for full-scale sanctions. If Russia violates Ukrainian sovereignty again, we will know what to do ". The German Chancellor recalled the "serious consequences", but also invited Moscow to "seize the offers of dialogue", after having already urged "immediate signs of de-escalation".
A session of European leaders could be held on the sidelines of the summit on Thursday between the EU and the African Union, and an extraordinary summit of those of the G7 is not excluded, which meanwhile has assured that it has prepared a package of "economic and financial sanctions with enormous and immediate consequences on the Russian economy ".
Our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Di Maio it will be in Kiev today, where it "will reaffirm Italy's full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" and "will confirm Italy's firm support for every negotiating effort". Di Maio could go to Moscow on Thursday for a meeting announced by his counterpart Serghei Lavrov.