KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Ukrainians to fly the country’s flags from buildings and sing the national anthem in unison on February 16, a date that some Western media have cited as a possible start of a Russian invasion.
Ukrainian officials stressed that Zelenskiy was not predicting an attack on that date, but responding with skepticism to foreign media reports. Several Western media organisations have quoted US and other officials citing the date as when Russian forces would be ready for an attack.
“They tell us Feb 16 will be the day of the attack. We will make it a day of unity,” Zelenskiy said in a video address to the nation. “They are trying to frighten us by yet again naming a date for the start of military action,” Zelenskiy said. “On that day, we will hang our national flags, wear yellow and blue banners, and show the whole world our unity.”
Zelenskiy has long said that while he believes Russia is threatening his country, the likelihood of an imminent attack has been overstated by Ukraine’s Western allies, responding to Moscow’s efforts to intimidate Ukraine and sow panic.
Zelenskiy’s office released the text of a decree calling for all villages and towns in Ukraine to fly the country’s flags on Wednesday, and for the entire nation to sing the national anthem at 10 am. It also called for an increase in salaries of soldiers and border guards.
US officials said they were not predicting an assault ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on a specific day, but repeated warnings that it could come at any time.
“I won’t get into a specific date, I don’t think that would be smart. I would just tell you that it is entirely possible that he could move with little to no warning,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. Earlier, Kirby said Moscow was still adding to its military capabilities on the Ukrainian frontier.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington, which has already sent most of its diplomats home, was moving its remaining diplomatic mission in Ukraine from Kyiv to the western city of Lviv, much further from the Russian frontier. He cited a “dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces”.
Russia suggested on Monday that it was ready to keep talking to the West to try to defuse the security crisis. In a televised exchange, Putin was shown asking his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, whether there was a chance of an agreement to address Russia’s security concerns, or whether it was just being dragged into tortuous negotiations.
Lavrov replied: “We have already warned more than once that we will not allow endless negotiations on questions that demand a solution today.” But he added: “It seems to me that our possibilities are far from exhausted… At this stage, I would suggest continuing and building them up.” read more
Western countries have threatened sanctions on an unprecedented scale if Russia does invade. The Group of Seven large economies (G7) warned of “economic and financial sanctions which will have massive and immediate consequences on the Russian economy”.
After speaking with the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he still believed “from his own analysis, his own hopes” that there would not be a conflict, a U.N. spokesperson said. read more
Moscow says Ukraine’s quest to join NATO poses a threat. While NATO has no immediate plans to admit Ukraine, Western countries say they cannot negotiate over a sovereign country’s right to form alliances.
