WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he does not believe Russia will invade Ukraine as it amasses its forces on the border.
“Any invasion by on country to another country is against international law, and I hope that this, of course, will not happen in the present circumstances,” Guterres told reporters at the UN’s New York headquarters. “I am convinced it will not happen. And I strongly hope to be right.”
The U.S. alongside its European allies has been warning that Russia is setting the stage for an invasion of Ukraine and has pre-positioned more than 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine alongside significant artillery and tank deployments. Moscow has denied it is preparing for a military offensive, saying its troops are there for regular exercises.
The development comes as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have announced plans to send American weaponry to Ukraine, citing “possible Russian aggression”, as the first shipment of the United States’ $200 million military package arrived in Kiev.
“The United States will continue providing such assistance to support Ukraine’s Armed Forces in their ongoing effort to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russian aggression,” the U.S. Embassy said on Saturday.
The delivery followed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Kiev this week and his Friday talks with with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a bid to lower temperature amid simmering tensions over Ukraine.
But the arrival of the U.S. military aid in Kiev on Saturday put the kibosh on those hopes. In a joint statement on Friday, the three Baltic members of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance also announced their plans to send arms to Ukraine.
“This aid will further enhance Ukraine’s capability to defend its territory and population in case of a possible Russian aggression,” they said.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, however, ruled out arms deliveries.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed Berlin’s policy of not supplying lethal weapons to conflict zones.

NATO Not to Pull Out From Romania, Bulgaria

The development also coincided with NATO’s rejection on Friday of Moscow’s demands to withdraw its forces from Romania and Bulgaria.
“NATO will not renounce our ability to protect and defend each other, including with the presence of troops in the eastern part of the alliance,” its spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said.
Earlier Friday, the Russian foreign ministry said the security guarantees Moscow seeks from the West include provisions requiring NATO forces to leave Romania and Bulgaria.
Russia has demanded legally binding guarantees from the military alliance that it will halt its eastward expansion and return to its 1997 borders.
Replying to an inquiry about what would that mean for Bulgaria and Romania which joined NATO after 1997, the ministry said Russia wanted all foreign troops, weapons and other military hardware withdrawn from those countries.
Blinken, however, took a tough line after talks with Lavrov in Geneva, warning Moscow of a “swift, severe and a united response” if it invaded Ukraine.
The top American and Russian diplomats failed to make any major breakthrough in their talks on Ukraine, with Lavrov reiterating that Moscow was still waiting for a written response to its demands for security guarantees.