Meanwhile, Germany’s navy chief has resigned following Kiev’s formal protest over his comments on the Ukraine crisis.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has accepted an invitation to meet with British counterpart Ben Wallace on the Ukraine crisis, a senior UK defense source said on Saturday, raising fears of an imminent invasion.
“The Defense Secretary is pleased that Russia has accepted an invitation to speak to its counterpart,” the source said.
“The last defense bilateral between our two countries was in London in 2013, with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu offering to meet in Moscow instead,” the source said.
“The Secretary of State has made it clear that he will explore all avenues to achieve stability and resolve the Ukraine crisis.”
Meanwhile, Germany’s navy chief has resigned following a formal protest over Kiev’s comments on the Ukraine crisis, which were quickly rejected by Berlin.
The border with Ukraine is packed with tens of thousands of Russian soldiers with an arsenal of tanks, combat vehicles, artillery and missiles. Russia has denied its plans to invade, but the White House believes an attack could happen “any time” now.
Britain’s Foreign Office on Saturday advised against all travel to Donetsk and Lugansk, two pro-Moscow separatist regions, as well as Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
It also advised against all essential travel to the rest of Ukraine and recommended that British nationals should mark their presence in the country.
A US State Department spokesman said on condition of anonymity on Saturday that they had no plans to evacuate US citizens from Ukraine, adding that commercial flights are currently available.
Ukraine ‘disappointed’ in Germany
Germany’s Navy chief K-Achim Schöenbach announced his resignation on Saturday following a diplomatic storm over comments made at a think-tank meeting in New Delhi.
In video footage of the meeting, Schoenbach said the idea that Russia wanted to invade Ukraine was “nonsense”, adding that what Putin wanted was “to be respected” and probably deserved respect.
He also said that the Crimean peninsula, which Russia seceded from Ukraine in 2014, was gone and that Ukraine would not return.
After admitting his mistake on Twitter on Saturday, he issued a statement hours later, saying he had submitted his resignation “to avoid further harm to the German Navy and, above all, the German Federal Republic”.
German ministry spokesman AFP The Vice Admiral will step down “with immediate effect”.
Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine’s foreign minister summoned Germany’s ambassador to Kiev to protest the “clear unacceptability” of Schönbach’s comments.
In a separate development, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba denounced Germany for refusing to supply arms to Kiev, urging Berlin to “undermine unity” and stop “encouraging Vladimir Putin”.
Kuleba said on Twitter that Germany’s statements “about the impossibility of supplying defense weapons to Ukraine” do not correspond to the “current security situation”.
Ukraine’s minister stressed that “today the unity of the West in relation to Russia is more important than ever”.
He said Ukraine is “grateful” to Germany for the support it has already provided, but its “current statements are disappointing”.
Also on Saturday, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Berlin would send Ukraine to a field hospital, but once again rejected Kiev’s call for weapons.
,