What is known about the fear of starting a war between Russia and Ukraine?

Diplomats and government leaders, meanwhile, faced difficulties in trying to resume stalled talks to avoid starting an open war.

Here’s a look at the reasons that have raised fears of starting a war:

STRONG WARNINGS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE

The White House said it did not yet know whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a decision to invade, but said Putin had gathered all the elements to do so quickly and urged Americans in Ukraine to leave within the next 48 hours. .

Many analysts believed that an invasion of Ukraine was unlikely to begin until February 20, after the end of the Winter Olympics taking place in China.

The increased rhetoric of the United States followed new intelligence information showing another increase in the number of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine.

“We can not determine now the day and time of the start of an attack, but it is much more likely to happen at any moment,” said President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

According to a US official familiar with the findings, the United States received intelligence information, according to which Russia is looking at Wednesday as a possible start date for an attack. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and did so only on condition of anonymity, declined to say how conclusive the intelligence information was.

In a demonstration of US commitment to NATO allies, the Pentagon announced the deployment of 3,000 more combat troops to Poland to join the 1,700 US troops already there, a senior US Department of Defense official said Friday. .

The White House said President Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would discuss the crisis on the Ukraine-Russia border by telephone on Saturday.

Some NATO allies, including Britain, Norway and Denmark, are also urging their citizens to leave Ukraine.

PREPARATIONS AND POSITIONS

In the Romanian port of Constanta, on the Black Sea coast, loud noise from the deployment of heavy US military equipment is breaking the silence, a sign that reinforcements and 1,000 other US troops are being deployed at an air base there.

This is another indication of heavy equipment reinforcement in strategic areas around the Black Sea, where Russia, Ukraine and three NATO allies have military bases.

“From this area in the Black Sea region to the Baltic, the Allies are strengthening NATO’s presence at this critical time,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg of Constanta. Romania’s neighbor Bulgaria will also welcome Spanish aircraft, which will further increase the alliance’s strong presence in the region.

In Black Sea waters, warships of the Russian Baltic and Northern Fleets arrived in Sevastopol Bay on the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. Other ships are joining similar combat forces that are part of the fleet Russian Black Sea, increasing its amphibious landing ability.

Moscow has announced comprehensive exercises in the Black Sea and Azov Sea in the coming days and has closed large areas of commercial transport, prompting a strong reaction from Ukraine.

On the northern border of Ukraine, Russia and its ally Belarus have begun 10-day military maneuvers, where real ammunition will be used.

“There is a danger of a complete invasion,” warned NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, but added that other threats were present, “including attempts to topple the government in Kiev.”

AT THE MOMENT THE TANKS HAVE REPLACED THE TALKS

Despite the great diplomatic efforts in Europe, in which senior leaders were also involved, the results have been very few, while both sides continue to wait and see which side will make the first concessions.

The only slightly positive news on Friday seemed to come from Moscow, where British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said he had had a “constructive and honest” discussion with Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu.

“I heard clearly from the Russian government that they did not intend to invade Ukraine,” Wallace told reporters in Moscow. He added: “We will judge that statement on the basis of field evidence.”

Talks in Berlin between Ukraine and Russia, joined by France and Germany, initially raised hopes for some progress as they lasted until Friday morning, but in the end, they yielded no significant results.

“Unfortunately, almost nine hours of talks have ended without any significant results,” said Dmitry Kozak, Russia’s deputy chief of staff. It remained unclear when and how the next attempt at a breakthrough would be made.

A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped halt large-scale fighting in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed insurgents, but regular low-level clashes have continued. The Kremlin has accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials have argued in recent weeks that its unilateral implementation would hurt the country.

On the other side of the world, in Melbourne, Australia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken showed no signs of optimism. “We have made every effort to engage Russia, to address the concerns it has raised, to share our concerns with those of our European partners and allies,” he said. But there continues to be a huge gap with Moscow.

“Simply, we continue to see very disturbing signs of Russian escalation, including the arrival of new forces on the Ukrainian border. “And as we said before, we are in a certain period when the invasion can start at any time,” said Secretary Blinken.

Later Friday, President Biden spoke with a number of European leaders to highlight concerns raised by US intelligence about the possibility of launching a Russian invasion of Ukraine in the coming days. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Western leaders were fully united and would respond harshly to a Russian invasion with devastating economic and trade sanctions.

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