Ukraine confirmed that it is ready to repel a possible Russian invasion of its territory and threatened Russian forces with hell, while US President Joe Biden again warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Russia will pay a heavy price if it attacks its western neighbor.
Late on Saturday evening, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyal said that his country's army is ready to repel the enemy at any moment, unlike what happened in 2014, referring to Russia's occupation of the Ukrainian island of Crimea.
Shmyhal added that the Ukrainian people should trust their state and army and not panic and fear, stressing that Ukraine is united with its partners in the face of the Russian escalation.
Simultaneously, Ukrainian Chief of Staff Valery Zaluzhny said in a joint statement with Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, addressing the Russian forces, "Welcome to hell," as he put it.
The joint statement published by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated that 420,000 Ukrainian soldiers, including military leaders, are ready to die, and the defense of the capital, Kiev, has been strengthened, and the statement confirmed that the Ukrainian armed forces are different from what they were in 2014, and are fully prepared to repel No aggression, ready for all scenarios.
The statement noted that Ukraine today enjoys unprecedented support from international partners, describing this support as the largest since independence, especially in the field of defensive weapons.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine revealed that Kiev has so far received two thousand tons of modern weapons, ammunition and body armor from various countries.
On the ground, Ukraine continues preparations for a possible war scenario through exercises that began on Saturday in the Kherson region in the north of the Crimea, while the Kiev metropolitan city council approved a plan to evacuate the population, with the participation of more than 13,000 civil defense personnel.
The Ukrainian statements come in light of US assessments that Russian forces may invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 20.
Washington and its allies assert that Russia has deployed about 130,000 troops around Ukraine and in Belarus in preparation for an attack on its western neighbor, which Moscow has repeatedly denied.
Biden told Putin that Russia's invasion of Ukraine would cause massive human suffering (Reuters)
New US warning to Russia
Amid talk of tangible indications of a possible Russian attack, US President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday during a phone call between them that Washington and its allies would immediately incur a heavy cost to Russia if it invaded Ukraine, and that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would result in widespread human suffering and reduce Russia's position.
The White House said in a statement that Biden discussed with Putin during the hour-long call the developments in Ukraine, in a step to defuse tension over the Ukrainian file.
For its part, the Kremlin said that Putin agreed with Biden to continue the dialogue, and added that the dialogue between the two presidents was balanced and pragmatic, noting that the Russian President denounced during the call with Biden what he described as false information about the alleged Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin added that Putin told Biden that the West was not putting enough pressure on Ukraine to implement the Minsk agreements on the conflict in the Donbass region (eastern Ukraine), and stressed that Moscow would soon announce its steps regarding Washington and NATO's response to its proposals for security guarantees. .
At the same time, The Times quoted British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace as saying that he feared that the Russian president's intentions would go beyond Ukraine.
In the context of a broad diplomatic movement to defuse a possible conflict, French President Emmanuel Macron made phone calls on Saturday evening regarding the Ukraine crisis with his American and Ukrainian counterparts, Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky, and with German Chancellor Ulf Schulz.
The French presidency had said that President Emmanuel Macron discussed with his Russian counterpart - in a phone call - the developments of the Ukrainian file, conveyed to him the concerns of France's allies and European partners, and assured him that frank dialogue is not compatible with escalation.
A French diplomatic source confirmed that the Russian President denied President Macron that he had any intention to take military action, adding that Macron had conveyed to Putin a message that he would respond with severe sanctions if he decided to take military action.
For its part, the Kremlin stated that President Putin discussed with his Belarusian counterpart the response of NATO and Washington to the security guarantees proposal.
In a related development, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke about the crisis with his American counterpart Anthony Blinken, and stressed to him that the propaganda campaign launched by the United States and its allies regarding what he called "Russian aggression" against Ukraine has provocative goals.
As for the US State Department, it stated that Blinken reiterated that if Moscow follows the path of aggression and invades more of Ukraine, this will lead to a resolute, broad and united response.
In the same context, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had a phone call with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin, and the ministry indicated that Shoigu and Austin discussed security issues of common interest.
For its part, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that the talks included the Russian military deployment in the Crimea and near the Ukrainian border.
In a striking development, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered a temporary repositioning of National Guard forces in Ukraine, to move outside its borders.
Invitations to leave
In the face of talk of a possible war, the US State Department ordered most of the essential American staff at its embassy in Kiev to leave, and also called for not traveling to Ukraine, Crimea and Donetsk due to the increasing Russian threats.
The US State Department stated that it will suspend consular services at its embassy, effective February 13.
The US administration confirmed that it will not be able to evacuate American citizens in the event of a Russian military action taking place anywhere in Ukraine, noting that military action may begin at any time and without warning.
In light of the developments on the ground, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that its embassy and consulate in Ukraine continue their work as usual, but made clear that it had decided to make adjustments to the work of its employees, in anticipation of any provocative actions by Ukraine or a third country.
As for "Sputnik" agency, it said - earlier - that the employees of the Russian embassy and consulate in Kiev had begun to leave Ukraine.
Kuwait, Finland, Britain, Norway, Denmark, Latvia, Australia and New Zealand have asked their citizens to leave Ukraine as soon as possible, and the European Union has called on its non-essential staff to leave Ukraine.
reinforcements in eastern europe
The Washington Post quoted US and European officials as saying that Washington and NATO will strengthen their military presence in Eastern Europe.
The newspaper quoted a diplomatic source in NATO that the alliance is considering deploying combat units in Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary if their governments agree.
The source stated that the alliance is likely to expand training and intelligence gathering, as well as air surveillance patrols and its fleet in the Black and Baltic Seas.
American exile
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) on Saturday denied the validity of the Russian accusations about the entry of a US submarine into Russian territorial waters near the Kuril Islands.
The spokesman told Al Jazeera that the US military is flying, sailing and operating in international waters safely.
The Russian Defense Ministry summoned the US military attache at the US embassy in Moscow against the background of what it said was a violation by the US submarine, and stated that it had handed him a protest note in this regard.