In Kyiv, on Monday, February 14, a visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected with the aim of reducing the economic effects of Western government statements of a possible military attack on Ukraine. Earlier, in another of such comments, the US has pointed to preparations in Russia for an incursion in its neighbouring country this week, British news portal The Guardian reports.
In the Ukrainian capital, Scholz and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy are expected to talk about how Germany could help stabilise Ukraine’s economy after fears of an imminent war took a toll on its currency. A moratorium on Ukraine’s eligibility for NATO accession was not on the table for Germany, a German source told Reuters. On Tuesday Scholz is expected to use a trip to Moscow to press home the economic cost of an invasion of Ukraine, German government sources have said.
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US intelligence over the weekend claimed that Russia had accelerated plans for an invasion and could move troops across the border as soon as Wednesday, before the end of the Winter Olympics on 20 February.
The Guardian reports, Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, told the CBS News programme Face the Nation: «We have seen over the course of the past 10 days, dramatic acceleration in the build-up of Russian forces and the disposition of those forces in such a way that they could launch a military action essentially at any time. But of course, it still awaits the go order. And so therefore, we cannot predict the precise date or time that they make any action.»
German Chancellor visits Kyiv after US warns of preparations for imminent incursion
