The specter of the Russian invasion Will Ukraine join NATO? Will this deter Putin's plans? The specter of the Russian invasion Will Ukraine join NATO? Will this deter Putin's plans?

The specter of the Russian invasion Will Ukraine join NATO? Will this deter Putin's plans?

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Amidst the possibility of conflict, the killing of a Ukrainian soldier and Russia arresting Kiev intelligence agents A Ukrainian soldier was killed on the front line in clashes with pro-Russian separatists, while Moscow announced the arrest of three suspected Ukrainian intelligence agents, amid talk of a possible new conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia said Thursday that it had arrested three suspected Ukrainian intelligence agents, and accused one of them of plotting to carry out an attack using two explosive devices, while Kiev denied the allegations and described them as fabricated. The arrests come amid concerns from Ukraine and the West about a build-up of Russian forces near Ukraine, while Moscow denies planning an invasion and accuses Kiev of strengthening its forces in the east of the country. The Russian Security Service said in a statement that an officer of the Ukrainian military intelligence was arrested "in red-handed" with two bombs smuggled across the border. The statement said that the other two are suspected of being agents of the Ukrainian Security Service who sought to collect information in Russia and photograph transport infrastructure and important companies. Ukraine's military intelligence service declined to comment, while Ukraine's security service denied the Russian allegations. Ukrainian soldier killed On the other hand, a Ukrainian soldier was killed on the front line in clashes with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, the army announced, amid heightened tensions with Moscow. This brings the death toll among Ukrainian soldiers to 61 since the beginning of the year in the east of the country, where Kiev's forces have been waging a war since 2014, which has killed 13,000 people. The army's media office reported that the soldier was killed on Wednesday, adding that the army had tracked six soldiers in this area during the past month, according to Agence France-Presse. In a statement, the Ukrainian army accused the separatists of targeting its positions with a grenade launcher and heavy-caliber machine guns. Russia is accused of providing financial and military support to the separatists in this conflict, which erupted after Moscow's annexation of Crimea, which Moscow denies. The possibility of a new conflict On the other hand, the Kremlin said Thursday that the possibility of a new conflict in eastern Ukraine exists, and that Moscow is concerned about Kiev's "hostile" rhetoric and the increase in provocative actions, as he described it. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Moscow was concerned about the possibility of a Ukrainian military movement in eastern Ukraine, which Kiev denied planning. Peskov also said that Russia viewed Ukraine's president's pledge to return Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, as a direct threat. "Such a formula means that Kiev may resort to any option, including force, to try to encroach on Russian territory," he added. The specter of the Russian invasion Will Ukraine join NATO? Will this deter Putin's plans? Amid increasing US warnings of an invasion by the Russian army, Ukraine is seeking protection from NATO in the face of danger on its borders. This danger also revives the hopes of its joining the alliance, while the latter is still hesitating about the matter and is examining the calculations of the Russian response to that. The statements of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg agreed to warn of an imminent Russian threat to Ukraine. This was after their participation in the "Reuters.Next" conference, held from 1 to 3 December, when Stoltenberg said, "We have all said it very clearly, the price that will have to be paid (from the Russians) will be heavy, and sanctions will be among the options." . "I think it is quite clear that Russia already knows that it will pay a higher price," he added. For his part, the US Secretary of State said that his country is deeply concerned amid evidence that Russia has drawn up plans for large-scale hostile moves against Ukraine, adding that the Russian plans include efforts to destabilize Ukraine from the inside in addition to massive military operations. In return, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kulba Dmytro, who was present at the meeting, urged both NATO and the United States to take deterrent sanctions against Moscow, saying: “We call on our allies to join us in jointly putting in place a painful (sanctions) package against Russia if it chooses to proceed. In the worst case scenario. For months, Kiev has been documenting its diplomatic and military ties with the Western Defense Alliance, the latest of which was the naval maneuvers that it and it conducted weeks ago in the waters of the Black Sea, and NATO handed over two warships to the Ukrainian Navy. But with the escalation of the risk of conflict between it and its Russian neighbours, talk has returned once again to Ukraine's hopes to join the 30 NATO countries in order to deter the influence of the Kremlin, while the alliance leadership is still reluctant to take this step. Its fate depends on the Thirty Allies On Monday, in the Latvian capital, Riga, a summit of NATO foreign ministers was held, which its Secretary General said during the subsequent press conference that it was to "discuss the situation on the borders of Ukraine and study the unusual movements of Russian forces there." While the first question was put to the Secretary-General after he finished reading his statement about “what is the prospect of Ukraine joining the alliance?”, the American “Wall Street Journal” journalist asked, and Stoltenberg replied: “We are committed to all the decisions taken in this regard, especially Ukraine’s membership in the NATO. alliance". The Secretary-General added, "We support Ukraine's accession path to NATO, in order to achieve greater Euro-Atlantic integration, by supporting the necessary reforms in fighting corruption and modernizing its defense and security institutions." But apart from this support, “in order to become a member of NATO, you must adjust to the standards of the alliance, and the thirty members decide to accept your accession,” the Secretary-General added, without making a decisive decision in the matter, instead stressing that “Russia has no right to disrupt this path.” . Observers read in the response a kind of hesitation and the exclusion of any definitive answer to it at the near level. This hesitation in NATO's support for Kiev was also evident in Stoltenberg's answer to a BBC journalist's question about "How effective are political and economic sanctions in curbing any possible Russian aggression against Ukraine? Is there a military intervention plan?" “It is important to understand the difference between what we do as support for our Ukrainian partner, and our responsibility to protect allied countries in the Black Sea region,” the NATO official responded, referring to the potential for an outbreak of armed conflict in the region that could threaten member states around the Black Sea. The discussion of Kiev-NATO relations coincides with Russian President Vladimir Putin warning the alliance not to cross the "red line" in Ukraine. Putin said that his country is ready to direct its missiles towards Europe if it must respond to the movements of NATO forces on its eastern borders. Years of Ukrainian waiting The decision to approve Ukraine’s accession to NATO dates back to the Bucharest Conference in 2008, and the membership path of the former Soviet state was launched, requiring it to implement major reforms at the level of its legal and human rights arsenal, fight corruption in its government institutions, and modernize its security and defense institutions. This path that Ukraine has embarked on since then was disrupted in 2010 with the election of Viktor Yanukovych, who is close to Russia, as president. The delay in proceeding with the membership program was exacerbated by the protests in the country in 2013, which led to the downfall of Yanukovych, who fled to Russia in 2014. Prior to these events, Ukrainian public opinion tended to oppose joining NATO, but with Russia's occupation of Crimea in 2015, and the outbreak of the Donbass war in the east of the country with separatists backed by Moscow, the polls documented the transformation of this public opinion to the urgency of accelerating the approval of the country's membership of the defense alliance.

Amidst the possibility of conflict, the killing of a Ukrainian soldier and Russia arresting Kiev intelligence agents


A Ukrainian soldier was killed on the front line in clashes with pro-Russian separatists, while Moscow announced the arrest of three suspected Ukrainian intelligence agents, amid talk of a possible new conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Russia said Thursday that it had arrested three suspected Ukrainian intelligence agents, and accused one of them of plotting to carry out an attack using two explosive devices, while Kiev denied the allegations and described them as fabricated.

The arrests come amid concerns from Ukraine and the West about a build-up of Russian forces near Ukraine, while Moscow denies planning an invasion and accuses Kiev of strengthening its forces in the east of the country.

The Russian Security Service said in a statement that an officer of the Ukrainian military intelligence was arrested "in red-handed" with two bombs smuggled across the border.

The statement said that the other two are suspected of being agents of the Ukrainian Security Service who sought to collect information in Russia and photograph transport infrastructure and important companies.

Ukraine's military intelligence service declined to comment, while Ukraine's security service denied the Russian allegations.

Ukrainian soldier killed
On the other hand, a Ukrainian soldier was killed on the front line in clashes with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, the army announced, amid heightened tensions with Moscow.

This brings the death toll among Ukrainian soldiers to 61 since the beginning of the year in the east of the country, where Kiev's forces have been waging a war since 2014, which has killed 13,000 people.

The army's media office reported that the soldier was killed on Wednesday, adding that the army had tracked six soldiers in this area during the past month, according to Agence France-Presse.

In a statement, the Ukrainian army accused the separatists of targeting its positions with a grenade launcher and heavy-caliber machine guns.

Russia is accused of providing financial and military support to the separatists in this conflict, which erupted after Moscow's annexation of Crimea, which Moscow denies.

The possibility of a new conflict
On the other hand, the Kremlin said Thursday that the possibility of a new conflict in eastern Ukraine exists, and that Moscow is concerned about Kiev's "hostile" rhetoric and the increase in provocative actions, as he described it.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Moscow was concerned about the possibility of a Ukrainian military movement in eastern Ukraine, which Kiev denied planning.

Peskov also said that Russia viewed Ukraine's president's pledge to return Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, as a direct threat.

"Such a formula means that Kiev may resort to any option, including force, to try to encroach on Russian territory," he added.

The specter of the Russian invasion Will Ukraine join NATO? Will this deter Putin's plans?


Amid increasing US warnings of an invasion by the Russian army, Ukraine is seeking protection from NATO in the face of danger on its borders. This danger also revives the hopes of its joining the alliance, while the latter is still hesitating about the matter and is examining the calculations of the Russian response to that.

The statements of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg agreed to warn of an imminent Russian threat to Ukraine.

This was after their participation in the "Reuters.Next" conference, held from 1 to 3 December, when Stoltenberg said, "We have all said it very clearly, the price that will have to be paid (from the Russians) will be heavy, and sanctions will be among the options." . "I think it is quite clear that Russia already knows that it will pay a higher price," he added.

For his part, the US Secretary of State said that his country is deeply concerned amid evidence that Russia has drawn up plans for large-scale hostile moves against Ukraine, adding that the Russian plans include efforts to destabilize Ukraine from the inside in addition to massive military operations.

In return, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kulba Dmytro, who was present at the meeting, urged both NATO and the United States to take deterrent sanctions against Moscow, saying: “We call on our allies to join us in jointly putting in place a painful (sanctions) package against Russia if it chooses to proceed. In the worst case scenario.

For months, Kiev has been documenting its diplomatic and military ties with the Western Defense Alliance, the latest of which was the naval maneuvers that it and it conducted weeks ago in the waters of the Black Sea, and NATO handed over two warships to the Ukrainian Navy. But with the escalation of the risk of conflict between it and its Russian neighbours, talk has returned once again to Ukraine's hopes to join the 30 NATO countries in order to deter the influence of the Kremlin, while the alliance leadership is still reluctant to take this step.

Its fate depends on the Thirty Allies
On Monday, in the Latvian capital, Riga, a summit of NATO foreign ministers was held, which its Secretary General said during the subsequent press conference that it was to "discuss the situation on the borders of Ukraine and study the unusual movements of Russian forces there."

While the first question was put to the Secretary-General after he finished reading his statement about “what is the prospect of Ukraine joining the alliance?”, the American “Wall Street Journal” journalist asked, and Stoltenberg replied: “We are committed to all the decisions taken in this regard, especially Ukraine’s membership in the NATO. alliance".

The Secretary-General added, "We support Ukraine's accession path to NATO, in order to achieve greater Euro-Atlantic integration, by supporting the necessary reforms in fighting corruption and modernizing its defense and security institutions." But apart from this support, “in order to become a member of NATO, you must adjust to the standards of the alliance, and the thirty members decide to accept your accession,” the Secretary-General added, without making a decisive decision in the matter, instead stressing that “Russia has no right to disrupt this path.” .

Observers read in the response a kind of hesitation and the exclusion of any definitive answer to it at the near level. This hesitation in NATO's support for Kiev was also evident in Stoltenberg's answer to a BBC journalist's question about "How effective are political and economic sanctions in curbing any possible Russian aggression against Ukraine? Is there a military intervention plan?" “It is important to understand the difference between what we do as support for our Ukrainian partner, and our responsibility to protect allied countries in the Black Sea region,” the NATO official responded, referring to the potential for an outbreak of armed conflict in the region that could threaten member states around the Black Sea.

The discussion of Kiev-NATO relations coincides with Russian President Vladimir Putin warning the alliance not to cross the "red line" in Ukraine. Putin said that his country is ready to direct its missiles towards Europe if it must respond to the movements of NATO forces on its eastern borders.

Years of Ukrainian waiting
The decision to approve Ukraine’s accession to NATO dates back to the Bucharest Conference in 2008, and the membership path of the former Soviet state was launched, requiring it to implement major reforms at the level of its legal and human rights arsenal, fight corruption in its government institutions, and modernize its security and defense institutions.

This path that Ukraine has embarked on since then was disrupted in 2010 with the election of Viktor Yanukovych, who is close to Russia, as president. The delay in proceeding with the membership program was exacerbated by the protests in the country in 2013, which led to the downfall of Yanukovych, who fled to Russia in 2014.

Prior to these events, Ukrainian public opinion tended to oppose joining NATO, but with Russia's occupation of Crimea in 2015, and the outbreak of the Donbass war in the east of the country with separatists backed by Moscow, the polls documented the transformation of this public opinion to the urgency of accelerating the approval of the country's membership of the defense alliance.
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