escalation before the inevitable Russian invasion?

Published

France 3

Article written by

H.Puffeney, J.Vitaline, V.Lucas, PM.de La Foata – France 3

France Televisions

The United States is convinced, Saturday, February 19, that Russia will invade Ukraine very soon. Incidents are increasing on the ground, where two Ukrainian soldiers have been killed.

In the Donbass, the pro-Russian separatist zone, women, children and the elderly take to the road to escape the war. They would be 20,000, an unverifiable figure. In this war of nerves, each side blames each other. Russia accuses the Ukrainians of shelling, and Ukraine deplores the death of two soldiers, Saturday, February 19. In the afternoon, shells exploded near the Ukrainian Interior Minister.

Faced with the escalation, airlines have suspended their flights to Ukraine. According to the United States, the Russian invasion would be imminent. “Russia has been building up its military forces in Ukraine for months. (…) they are deploying, and are now ready to strike”commented Lloyd J. Austin, the US Secretary of Defense.

Russia does not hide it, and continues its demonstrations of force. According to Francois Heisbourg, a specialist in geopolitics, retreating would be a very risky political choice for Vladimir Putin. “If he backed down, there is a chance that the question of his succession, which was already arising, would [pose] in a perhaps faster way”, he analyzes.


source site-29