• Ukraine Military exercises between Russia and Belarus begin amid tension with Ukraine

US President Joe Biden on Thursday called on his citizens to

leave Ukraine "now" over the threat of an invasion by Russia

, which has launched joint military exercises in neighboring Belarus despite European diplomatic efforts.

"American citizens should leave now (...) Things could accelerate quickly," Biden said in an interview with NBC News, warning of the might of the Russian military, with

more than 100,000 soldiers deployed along the borders with Ukraine

.

The US president, however,

again ruled out sending soldiers to Ukraine

, not even to evacuate its citizens in the event of an invasion.

That would be "a world war. When the Americans and the Russians start shooting at each other, we're in a very different world," Biden said.

The interview was broadcast after the start of major joint maneuvers by the Russian and Belarusian armies at the gates of Ukraine that clouded the incipient signs of hope after weeks of intense diplomatic efforts in Europe.

These exercises, concentrated especially in the Belarusian region of Brest, bordering Ukraine,

involve the deployment of missiles and heavy weapons

and, according to the United States, 30,000 additional Russian soldiers.

NATO assured that the deployment of missiles, heavy weapons and armed soldiers in that country located just north of Ukraine was

"a dangerous moment for security in Europe"

, which is experiencing the moments of greatest tension since the Cold War.

Ukrainian President

Volodimir Zelensky

accused Moscow of exerting "psychological pressure" on the now Western-leaning former Soviet republic.

Defense maneuvers, according to Moscow

European leaders have gone into a diplomatic frenzy in recent weeks to try to defuse the crisis, including visits to Moscow by French President

Emmanuel Macron

and soon to be German Chancellor

Olaf Scholz

.

The new German leader met with the leaders of the Baltic states on Thursday and warned Russia

"not to underestimate unity and determination as a member of the European Union and a NATO ally."

In an attempt to avoid "unfortunate incidents," the US chief of staff, General

Mark Milley

, had a rare conversation with his Belarusian counterpart, General

Victor Goulevitch

, the Pentagon said.

The Russian Defense Minister insisted that the exercises would focus on

"suppressing and repelling external aggression"

and the Kremlin promised that the troops would be repatriated once the exercises, scheduled until February 20, are over.

In addition to the drills in Belarus and the deployment to the Ukrainian border, Russia sent six warships across the Bosporus for naval exercises in the Black Sea and Sea of ​​Azov.

Faced with European outrage, the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov, described his concern about these exercises as "incomprehensible" and warned that

"ultimatums and threats lead nowhere

. "

Lavrov received his British counterpart, Liz Truss

, in Moscow

, who called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukrainian border.

London's diplomatic offensive was completed by Prime Minister

Boris Johnson

's visit to NATO and Poland.

Johnson insisted on convincing Putin to participate "in the de-escalation" during a visit to his troops deployed in Poland.

Economic sanctions

Russia is accused of preparing a new military operation against Kiev, after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, accusations rejected by the Kremlin, which says it wants to guarantee its security in the face of hostility from Kiev and NATO.

The Kremlin presented some security demands to defuse the crisis

, which include the prohibition of an eventual entry of Ukraine into NATO and the withdrawal of some Eastern European countries from the military alliance.

Western countries

consider these conditions unaffordable

and threaten Moscow with significant economic sanctions if they advance towards Ukraine.

These include possible consequences on the important Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany.

Even so, both parties advocate keeping the diplomatic channel open, which, before the maneuvers in Belarus, had given signs of hope.

After the annexation of Crimea in 2014, a war broke out in Donbas (eastern Ukraine) between Kiev forces and pro-Russian separatists that has left more than

14,000 dead in eight years

, according to the latest UN balance sheet.

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