Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
News on Russia, Ukraine, U.S., aviation industry, disease control
News (1) to (10) / Reporters : Harry Howard etal, Daily Mail / Image : Web Screenshot
News (1)
Russia is planning to invade Ukraine on Wednesday, a credible intelligence report has claimed, as US President Joe Biden urgently arranged a telephone call with Vladimir Putin on Saturday in a bid to prevent war.
According to German newspaper Der Spiegel, the US Secret Service, CIA and the Pentagon are said to have received intel of an 'exceptionally detailed' invasion plan, scheduled for 16 February.
They are said to contain specific routes that might be taken by individual Russian units and detail what roles they might play in the conflict.
The White House confirmed that Biden and Putin would discuss the crisis by phone today - just hours after thousands of Brits and Americans were warned to get out of Ukraine while they still can, as tensions reached boiling point.
Der Speigel suggests that a possible US tactic to scupper the plans is to make them public, including the invasion date.
News (2)
Ukraine war will escalate international food prices
Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the Defence Select Committee, today branded the situation "our Cuban missile crisis moment" as he called for British-led NATO divisions to be in the country.
The Conservative MP told Times Radio, "An invasion is imminent. Once that happens, because of the grain the comes out of Ukraine for the world, (that will) affect food prices across the world.
"Oil and gas prices will be affected as well, and European security will then be threatened further, so we have to ask ourselves, what should we do instead?
"What are the calculations, and yes, there is this looking Putin in the eye wondering what would happen.
"This is our Cuban missile crisis moment".
News (3)
Ukraine crisis sees authoritarianism on the rise
He said the consequences of allowing Ukraine to fall would see a 'new era of instability with a Russia and China axis developing' while the West is 'shrinking in size' and authoritarianism is on the rise.
It comes after the Foreign Office this week updated its advice to tell UK nationals to 'leave now while commercial means are still available' amid mounting concerns they could get caught up in fighting - including a deadly 'aerial bombardment of Kiev' - should Putin give the go-ahead to his 130,000 troops currently massed near Ukraine's borders.
The urgent government update came less than 24 hours after the US also issued an evacuation order, as western analysts raised the alarm that Vladimir Putin was about to send in his forces.
News (4)
EU urge non-essential staff to repatriate from Ukraine
The European Union also told non-essential staff from its diplomatic mission in Ukraine that they should leave the country, but stopped short of issuing a full evacuation order.
News (5)
Sullivan: U.S. will not rescue Americans in the event the war broke out
On Friday, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington believes Vladimir Putin could invade Ukraine any day, and issued a warning to Americans in the country: Get out immediately because the U.S. will not be coming back to rescue anyone.
"We encourage all American citizens who remain in Ukraine to depart immediately," Sullivan said. "We want to be crystal clear on this point. Any American in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible and in any event in the next 24 to 48 hours.
"The risk is now high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that this is what prudence demands. If you stay you are assuming risk, with no guarantee that there will be any other opportunity to leave and there is no prospect of a U.S. military evacuation in the event of a Russian invasion."
Further to this, PBS reporter Nick Schifrin tweeted on Friday, "U.S. officials anticipate a horrific, bloody campaign that begins with two days of aerial bombardment and electronic warfare, followed by an invasion, with the possible goal of regime change."
News (6)
Kyiv warns about the danger of a Russian attack
Late on Friday night, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urgently warned the city's citizens about the danger of a Russian attack. The former heavyweight boxing champion's statement - the first serious warning to the city's population- was issued late last night on social media.
The mayor released a statement on Telegram about preparations underway in case of attack. They included securing communications in case the internet or phone network went down, increasing bomb shelter capacity, stockpiling fuel & agreeing plans for evacuation.
News (7)
Security of Europe at stake
Prime Minister Boris Johnson voiced fears 'for the security of Europe' during a call with world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, whilst in a sign of the increasing tensions, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was yesterday involved in testy exchanges with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who is currently in Russia, warned an invasion could come 'at any time', echoing Washington's warnings that the Kremlin has amassed enough troops at the border to call an attack.
Meanwhile, videos purportedly showing atomic canons being moved towards Ukraine sparked fears Putin may be sending nuclear armed military hardware within striking distance of major cities.
The video - showing huge 2S7 Pion guns - was captured in Vesela Lopan, Bolgorod in Western Russia and just 10 miles from the Ukrainian border, according to The Sun.
Known as the 'Soviet atomic cannon', the devastating weapon is one of the most powerful artillery cannons ever built. It can carry up to four 203 mm nuclear shells, which have the potential to annihilate large areas.
News (8)
Putin warned Ukraine against joining NATO or risk nuclear war
In a chilling press conference earlier this week, Putin warned that were Ukraine to join NATO, the risk of nuclear war would increase. Russia has demanded that the alliance completely rules out Ukraine from ever joining.
In the FCDO's updated advice, the government has said: 'British nationals in Ukraine should leave now while commercial means are still available. Since January 2022, the build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine's borders has increased the threat of military action. The Embassy remains open but will be unable to provide in-person consular assistance. British nationals should leave while commercial options remain.'
A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority, which is why we have updated our travel advice. We urge British nationals in Ukraine to leave now via commercial means while they remain available.'
According to The Guardian, sources said the UK is not preparing an emergency airlift for British citizens because there are still commercial flights operating daily and the land border with Poland is open.
It is believed that the number of British citizens in Ukraine is in the low thousands, but many have strong ties to the country and are unlikely to leave.
The Foreign office's advice comes a day after US President Joe Biden urged all American citizens to leave the country. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Latvia, Norway and the Netherlands also told their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, while Israel said it was evacuating relatives of embassy staff.
The White House said Friday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could come within the week, possibly within the next two days, and urged Americans to leave the country now.
A call between Biden and Putin will take place on Saturday, a US official said tonight, as top US General Mark Milley spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart General Valery Gerasimo. The pair 'discussed several security-related issues of concern,' an official said.
Meanwhile, a senior official said that the US is sending 3,000 more troops to Poland, as President Biden met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders on Friday to brief them on developments.
The new wave of US troops join 1,700 who already are assembling there to support NATO allies.
The official, who provided the information on condition of anonymity before an official announcement, said the additional soldiers will depart their post at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, over the next couple of days and should be in Poland by early next week.
They are the remaining elements of an infantry brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division. A further 8,500 U.S. troops are already on alert.
News (9)
Package of sanctions on Russia if invasion began
It also emerged on Friday that U.S. and European officials are finalising an extensive package of sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine that targets major Russian banks but does not include banning Russia from the SWIFT financial system, according to U.S. and European officials.
A diplomatic source said the strategy now was to intensify efforts to spell out the cost to Putin of invasion.
"The message has to be that he cannot win," the source told DailyMail.com.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States did not have definitive information that an invasion has been ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But he said all the pieces were in place for a major military operation that could start "rapidly".
"The risk is high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that prudence demands that it is the time to leave now," Mr Sullivan said.
"We are not saying that a decision has been taken by President Putin," Mr Sullivan added.
"What we are saying is that we have a sufficient level of concern based on what we are seeing on the ground, and what our intelligence analysts have picked up, that we are sending this clear message."
He added that the possibility of an invasion taking place before the end of the Winter Olympics on 20 February is a "credible prospect" and a "very, very distinct possibility".
Speaking from the White House, Mr Sullivan said Russia could choose 'in very short order to commence a major military action against Ukraine', but stressed the US does not know whether Mr Putin has made a final decision.
Mr Sullivan said the 'threat is now immediate enough' to urge Americans to leave Ukraine 'as soon as possible and in any event in the next 24 to 48 hours'.
He did not mince words for those who choose to remain: 'The president will not be putting the lives of our men and women in uniform at risk by sending them into a war zone to rescue people who could have left now but chose not to.'
Sullivan spoke shortly after Biden and six European leaders, the heads of NATO and the European Union held talks on the worst crisis between the West and Russia since the end of the Cold War.
In a call lasting around 80 minutes, Downing Street said Mr Johnson urged Nato allies to make it clear to Moscow there is a 'heavy package of economic sanctions ready to go'.
'The Prime Minister told the group that he feared for the security of Europe in the current circumstances,' a No 10 spokeswoman said, in an account of the call that included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, as well as EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel.
Mr Johnson warned that the penalties would be "extremely damaging" to Russia's economy and urged that allies must reinforce Nato's eastern frontiers.
News (10)
Russia shrieks accountability for the Ukraine crisis
Russia is holding massive war games in neighbouring Belarus and insisting that the highly strained relations is not its fault.
Moscow denies planning to invade Ukraine but says it could take unspecified "military-technical" action unless a series of demands are met, including promises from NATO never to admit Ukraine and to withdraw forces from Eastern Europe.
The West has said those main demands are non-starters. The EU and NATO alliance delivered responses this week on behalf of their member states.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said it wanted individual answers from each country, and called the collective response "a sign of diplomatic impoliteness and disrespect".
The U.S. is set to send 3,000 more troops to Poland in the coming days to try to reassure NATO allies, fource U.S. officials told Reuters news agency on Friday.
Earlier, Mr Blinken outlined what he said were "very troubling signs of Russian escalation".
"We're in a window when an invasion could begin at any time – and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics," he said.
Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace today warned Russia that an invasion of Ukraine will have 'tragic consequences' as he continued the diplomatic blitz in Moscow.
He stressed the importance of keeping lines of communication open as he held talks with counterpart Sergei Shoigu.
News (11) to (13) / Reporter : Mary Kay Linge, The New York Post
News (11)
Biden threatens Putin with "severe and swift costs" if Russia invades Ukraine
“President Biden was clear that, if Russia undertakes a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States together with our Allies and partners will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia,” the White House said in a statement issued after the call.
“A further Russian invasion of Ukraine would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing,” the statement continued — adding that the US and its allies “are equally prepared for other scenarios” should diplomacy fail.
The call came as the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed press reports that it would be pulling staffers out of its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv due to “possible provocations by the Kyiv regime and third countries,” a spokeswoman said.
“Our American and British colleagues, apparently, know about some violent acts being prepared in Ukraine that can considerably complicate the security situation,” Maria Zakharova told the Russian news agency TASS.
The move was seen as a possible signal that hostilities could soon begin.
News (12)
Russia’s demand that Ukraine barred from NATO membership was not addressed
A Putin aide characterized the call as “balanced and businesslike” — but complained that, amid the “atmosphere of hysteria about the supposedly imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine by American officials,” Russia’s demand that Ukraine be barred from membership in NATO had not been addressed.
The Biden-Putin conversation, arranged hastily on Friday, came at what Secretary of State Antony Blinken called “a pivotal moment” of diplomacy as Russia continued to mass more than 130,000 troops and heavy military equipment along its border with Ukraine.
“So far, we’ve only seen escalation from Moscow,” Blinken said Saturday after speaking with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “This is a pivotal moment. We’re prepared for whatever should happen.”
News (13)
Embassies' staff started
evacuation from Kyiv from 12 February 2022
Earlier Saturday, the US and its Western allies began to evacuate their embassies in Kyiv. A small core of American diplomats would remain in Ukraine, the State Department said — but would relocate to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, where they could be more easily evacuated if a Russian invasion begins.
About 160 American military trainers, members of the Florida National Guard who have been in Ukraine to help its forces prepare for a potential invasion, are being pulled from the country, the Pentagon announced Saturday.
Ref: https://nypost.com/2022/02/12/joe-biden-speaks-with-vladimir-putin-to-dissuade-ukraine-invasion/
News (14) to (19) / Reporters : Alyssa Guzman etal,, Daily Mail
News (14)
Trump: Russia was emboldened to invade Ukraine after U.S. "incompetent" withdrawal from Afghanistan
Former President Donald Trump said "we're in a very bad position" after Russian President Vladimir Putin was 'emboldened' to invade Ukraine after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"We're in a really bad position right now," Trump, 75, said on Fox and Friends Weekend.
"I think [Putin] got a lot more ambitious. I think he wanted to negotiate for a period of time, [but] when he watched Afghanistan - when he watched the unbelievably bad withdrawal - where [the U.S.] took out the military first and left $85 billion worth of equipment behind for the Taliban to use, and of course the deaths.
When they watched all of them, I think they got emboldened," he said Saturday. "It's shocking because it should have never happened, it would have never happened [if I was in office].
Trump said of Putin and Russia, "I knew him very well. I stopped his pipeline, I sanctioned him more than everybody else sanctioned them. Nobody was ever tougher on Russia, but I got along with Putin very well, we respected each other."
Russia is reportedly planning to invade Ukraine on Wednesday, the U.S. reported after Secret Service, the CIA and the Pentagon said they received "exceptionally detailed" invasion plans that were scheduled for 16 February 2022 - causing President Joe Biden, 79, to arrange a phone call, that ended earlier Saturday, with Putin, 69.
"I don't think Putin is going to be listening," Trump said on Fox and Friends Weekend. "The phone call is very perfunctory, I don't think much is going to come out of it."
News (15)
Ukraine demands the U.S. share their intelligence with their experts
The Ukrainian president is now demanding the US share their intelligence with them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a live broadcast on Saturday, "If [the U.S. is] 100 percent certain information about a Russian invasion of Ukraine, please share it with us."
Active military movements have been going on for months with many countries warning Putin they will not stand for an invasion, as the West fears war.
The White House confirmed that Biden and Putin would discuss the crisis by phone on 12 February - just hours after thousands of Brits and Americans were warned to get out of Ukraine while they still can, as tensions reached boiling point.
News (16)
Some U.S. diplomats to handle emergencies in Lviv consulate
A small skeleton crew of US diplomats will fall back to a consulate in Lviv in far western Ukraine to handle emergencies. The fallback position is close to the border with Poland, allowing for easier extraction of the staff if the situation deteriorates.
News (17)
U.S. and Poland arrange border control points to process Americans fleeing by land
US and Polish officials are now said to be scouting for locations to establish fortified border control points along the Poland-Ukraine frontier to process Americans fleeing by land, in the event an attack halts commercial air flights.
The Pentagon has deployed an additional 3,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to Poland, bolstering the force of 1,700 already there, and the US forces are expected to assist with border control and evacuee processing.
Images released Saturday show Russian and Belarusian forces testing multiple rocket launchers mounted on snow camouflaged trucks, while a major Russian sea drill was launched in the Black Sea.
News (19)
Russian ambassador to the U.S. dismissed invasion
Despite the sabre-rattling drills, Russia's ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told Newsweek magazine that the US warnings of an invasion were 'alarmist' and repeated that his country was 'not going to attack anyone.'
Video
FOX and Friends 2/12/22 [TRUMP BACK] | FOX BREAKING NEWS TRUMP February 12, 2022 - YouTube
News (20)
Russia caught U.S. submarine in her waters, KLM suspended flights to Ukraine
News (21)
Russian An-2 light plane crashes, 2 people on board are killed
According to CCTV News, on 11 February 2022 local time, a Russian An-2 light plane crashed in the Kamchatka Krai in the Far East. There were two people on board and cargo was loaded.
According to reports, the plane was flying to the village of Temurat in the Kamchatka Territory at the time of the incident. The crash site has been found, and search and rescue personnel are extinguishing the wreckage of the plane.
The local emergency department has dispatched a search and rescue team to the incident area for search and rescue.
The governor of Kamchatka Krai, Solodov, revealed that all two people on board have been killed, all crew members.
News (22)
Slow recovery in Asia-Pacific aviation industry casts shadow over Singapore Airshow
The Asia-Pacific aviation industry has been slow to recover due to strict border restrictions, according to Reuters. Compared to 2020, there will be around two-thirds fewer exhibitors at Asia's largest aerospace event.
Skyscanner bookings data show signs of a rebound in air travel this year as countries including Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Australia reopen to more vaccinated tourists.
Major manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing will send their executives to the Singapore Airshow from February 15 to 18, taking the opportunity to meet face-to-face with key customers.
Images: 777X lands in Singapore for Asia Pacific debut (Video Screenshots)
Brendan Sobie, a Singapore-based aviation industry analyst, said he expected it to be a quiet, locally-oriented gathering, with many overseas executives meeting in the city centre rather than at the more distant fairgrounds.
According to data from Jefferies, a well-known Wall Street investment bank, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 35% of the global commercial fleet but in the past 10 years of various airshows, only 4% of the orders were released at the Singapore Airshow.
During the pandemic, most Asia-Pacific airlines have focused on delaying deliveries and returning planes to lessors, rather than placing new orders, Reuters said.
News (23)
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