Ukraine crisis: Indians asked to return to home amid threat of invasion by Russia
Mangalore Today News Network
New Delhi, Feb 15, 2022: Amid the looming threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Indian mission there has asked Indian students, especially those whose stay is not essential, to return to India. Those who would remain behind in Ukraine are to stay in touch with the embassy.
The United States, too, is relocating its Ukraine embassy operations from the capital Kyiv to the western city of Lviv, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, citing a "dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces."
The move comes as US officials warned that Moscow was continuing to amass more than 100,000 troops near Russia’s border with Ukraine and in neighbouring Belarus, and could at any time launch a devastating attack, including on Kyiv. Russia, however, denied Western accusations that it is planning an invasion.
The Biden Administration has repeatedly warned Russia of “severe consequences” in case its forces invade Ukraine and has insisted on a diplomatic solution to the issue.
“We are actively working to reach a diplomatic solution to de-escalate the crisis. Over the weekend, as you all know, the President spoke with President Putin, and we remain engaged with the Russian government in full coordination with our allies and partners,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
“The path for diplomacy remains available if Russia chooses to engage constructively,” she said.
The threat of an invasion comes after "failed" dialogues between Russia and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) and Western powers over Ukraine’s inclusion in the world body.
WHAT ARE RUSSIA’S DEMANDS?
* Russia, in December last year, demanded that the Nato abandon all its military activity in Eastern Europe. It included the demand for the withdrawal of Nato battalions from Poland and the Baltics.
* Russia has placed forth a demand that Nato must never admit Ukraine as a member.
* It has demanded a legal guarantee that the West, through Nato or any other organization, will desist from expansion further eastward.
* It also demanded nuclear disarmament of the US in Europe.
* Russia’s demands implied that the US and other Nato members would have to pull out their forces and stop the supply of arms to nations like Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Lithuania.
* On Russia’s demands, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had earlier said, "It is up to Ukraine and 30 [Nato] allies to decide when Ukraine is ready to join the alliance. Russia has no veto, no right to interfere in that process.”
CURRENT STATUS
Ukraine is currently a part of Nato’s Individual Partnership Action Plan that was launched in 2002. The IPAP enables dialogues and close cooperation between the Nato and Ukraine, something that Russia fears will lead to permanent membership of the country in the Western Alliance body. Nato, thus, has no legally binding obligation to protect Ukraine. But due to its strategic location and Russia’s history with Crimea, the West is protecting it to serve its own interests.
Courtesy:India Today