U.S. & NATO Urge Russia to pull back from its military buildup on Ukraine's border

Written by Eric Revell, Countable News

What’s the story?

• The U.S. and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are urging Russia to de-escalate the ongoing military buildup along its border with Ukraine. Ukraine has estimated that 94,000 Russian military troops have massed on its eastern border with Russia, where Russia has backed a separatist insurgency that’s fighting Ukraine’s government, and in Crimea, which is Ukrainian territory that was invaded and annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. 
• Many of those Russian troops aren’t typically stationed near Ukraine, which has heightened concern that Russia may be planning to invade Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the U.S. is “deeply concerned by evidence that Russia has made plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine.” He added, “We don’t know whether President Putin has made the decision to invade. We do know he’s putting in place the capacity to do so in short order.”
• Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday in Stockholm, Sweden, and told reporters:

“(A)s we’ve made very clear in recent weeks, we have deep concerns about Russia’s plans for renewed aggression against Ukraine… We have a strong, ironclad commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The best way to avert a crisis is through diplomacy, and that’s what I look forward to discussing with Sergey, including, by both parties, full implementation of the Minsk agreements, with Russia pulling back its forces… if Russia decides to pursue confrontation, there will be serious consequences.” 

• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg similarly noted the “significant and unusual concentration of forces, which is unjustified and unexplained. And accompanied by heightened rhetoric and disinformation.” Stoltenberg warned:

“Any future Russian aggression against Ukraine would come at a high price. And have serious political and economic consequences for Russia… At the same time, we maintain our political and practical support for our partner Ukraine.”

• Ukraine’s defense minister said that escalation by Russia is “a probable scenario, but not certain, and our task is to avert it.” He added, “The most probable time when (Russia) will be ready for the escalation is end of January.”
• A foreign affairs adviser to Russian leader Vladimir Putin said that a call between Putin and President Joe Biden is being planned for the coming days, with Russia set to push for binding guarantees that NATO will not expand to allow Ukraine’s membership. Lavrov told reporters ahead of his meeting with Blinken:

“No one should strengthen their security at the expense of the security of others. Further advance of NATO to the east will unambiguously affect the fundamental interests of our security.” 

• Currently, Ukraine is not an official member of NATO, although it is considered a partner and has received equipment and training from NATO members. Ukraine has a path to NATO membership and is seeking to join the alliance, but it’s not clear how soon NATO would be prepared to admit Ukraine as a member as past efforts have been delayed by governmental instability. 
• Russia regards the expansion of NATO to countries that share a border with it as a threat to its sphere of influence. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, several formerly communist satellites from the eastern bloc have been admitted to the alliance, including the Baltic nations and countries like Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, which share a border with Ukraine.
• Finland, which shares a border with Russia and isn’t a NATO member but partners with the alliance to bolster its military cooperation with NATO members, has weighed in on Russia’s reported demands about preventing further NATO enlargement. The Finnish president on Thursday released a statement noting that his country also retains the option of joining NATO and criticizing Russia for its attempt to suppress the alliance:

“Russia’s criticism regarding NATO enlargement and military activities is not new. Finland considers NATO to be a factor that is fostering security and stability in Europe. Maintaining a national room to manoeuvre and freedom of choice is the foundation of Finland’s foreign, security and defence policy. This also includes the possibility of military alignment and applying for NATO membership… Decisions concerning the accession of new members are made between the applicant country and the 30 NATO members, and decisions on membership are a matter for the applicant and NATO member countries.”