Russia is implementing a scenario of false provocations in order to carry out aggression against Ukraine. As U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said at the Munich Security Conference, everything that is happening on the borders is part of a scenario that will be followed by an invasion of Ukrainian territory.
"The differences need to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. We are deeply concerned that this is not the way Russia is going. Everything we are seeing, including what has been going on over the last two days, is part of a scenario that is already being played out to create false provocations to then respond to those provocations and eventually commit a new aggression against Ukraine," Blinken said.
He added that the Kremlin is surprised that NATO and the EU are uniting around Ukraine and urged allies to be vigilant.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that the situation in Ukraine remains very worrying, Le Point writes.
Emmanuel Macron called for a "cessation" of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, where "Russian military pressure has not abated." "The situation is extremely alarming," he added, adding that "obviously several people have been injured in the last hours." Macron added that at this stage, he has seen no evidence of Russia's de-escalation toward Ukraine. "At this stage, we have no evidence of Russian withdrawal," the French president acknowledged in comments after the EU-Africa summit.
Tonight, U.S. President Joe Biden will give an update on the situation around Ukraine. The speech of the American leader is expected around 23:00 Kiev time. This is reported by the TV channel CNN.
Before speaking on Ukraine, according to CNN, Biden will hold talks with allies.
This will be Biden's second speech on Ukraine in recent weeks. Last time, Biden said Washington did not yet know if the Russian president had decided to attack Ukraine, but warned Moscow of the consequences if it did.
