Ukraine announced its position on Russian accusations of planning to invade a region of Moldova on its western borders, while an Arab country decided to reopen its embassy in Ukraine, a year after it was closed due to the war, which entered its second year yesterday.

"We respect Moldova's sovereignty," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, criticizing Moscow's accusation of seeking to invade the separatist Transnistrian region as "unfounded."

His comments came a day after Russia accused Kiev of planning an invasion of the region bordering Ukraine, which lies on a long and narrow border strip between Ukraine and Moldova.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry also warned the United States and other NATO countries against taking "risky steps".

Moldova position

On the other hand, Moldova has repeatedly rejected what it describes as "Moscow's baseless allegations".

Moldova's defense ministry said on Friday that there were no "threats to military security" in Transnistria.

However, Moldovan political leaders, led by pro-European President Maia Sandu, recently warned of possible coup attempts in Moldova by Russia.

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the Russian army will defend the Russians in the region and the Russian "peacekeeping force" consisting of 1,500 members, the Kopasna ammunition depot and its guard force.

The ministry added that "any action that threatens their security will be considered an attack on the Russian Federation in accordance with international law."

Transnistria is a small region that declared its secession from Moldova in the 1990s after a short war, and is located on the western borders of Ukraine and has in recent weeks been the focus of increasing tension.


Algeria reopens its embassy

In a related matter, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced the decision to reopen his country's embassy in Ukraine, a year after it was closed due to the war there.

"We took a decision, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to reopen the Algerian embassy in Ukraine this week," Tebboune said, in an interview with local media broadcast on state television, adding, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will issue a notification about the details of the decision."

And in early March 2022, the Algerian embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, announced, like many embassies, the suspension of its work and the evacuation of its employees due to the security situation.

Tenth penalty package

Meanwhile, the European Union imposed, on Friday evening, a tenth package of sanctions on Moscow and on Iranian companies accused of providing them with drones, according to what was announced by the Swedish presidency of the bloc.

This new package of sanctions was approved after Poland lifted its reservations at the end of the evening, as Warsaw sought to make the sanctions much more severe, but its efforts failed.

During his visit to Kiev to deliver the first batch of German Leopard-2 tanks, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described this new package of sanctions as "very soft and very weak".

According to diplomatic sources, this tenth package of sanctions specifically imposes new restrictions on European exports to Russia worth 11 billion euros and freezes the assets of three Russian banks and many entities, including Iranian companies accused of supplying Moscow with drones.

Biden ruled out that his country would provide Ukraine with F-16 warplanes at the present time (Getty Images)

The European statements coincided with the announcement of a new package of US sanctions, as the US Treasury Department announced, on Friday, the imposition of new sanctions on Russia, specifically targeting banks, companies and individuals in the sectors of minerals, mines, military equipment and semiconductors.

The sanctions also included the prosecution of more than 30 individuals and companies from Switzerland, Germany and other countries for helping Moscow finance its war on Ukraine.

Biden's remarks

On the other hand, US President Joe Biden has ruled out that his country will supply Ukraine at the present time with F-16 warplanes, noting at the same time that there is no evidence that China has provided Russia with weapons, an accusation that Washington has repeated to Beijing. during the past weeks.

In an interview with ABC News on Friday, Biden said that the United States is providing Ukraine with the tanks and air defenses it needs, and that it does not need F-16s at present.

He stressed that "at the present time" he refuses to meet the demand of his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to supply Kiev with F-16 fighters.

Regarding the document submitted by Beijing to settle the conflict in Ukraine, Biden said that he does not see anything in this plan that "could benefit any party other than Russia," adding that "Putin applauds it. How can it be good?!".

With the passage of a year since the war in Ukraine, the Chinese government - in a document published on Friday - called on both Moscow and Kiev to hold peace talks, and expressed its refusal to resort to nuclear weapons.

While Russia welcomed that document, Washington, Berlin and Kiev expressed reservations about it.