The world powers have been engaged in one of the deepest crises in East-West relations for decades, grappling with post-Cold War influence and energy supplies as Moscow seeks to prevent the former Soviet neighbor from ever joining. nato military alliance.
Western countries have suggested arms control and confidence-building measures to defuse the standoff, which has prompted them to urge their citizens to leave Ukraine because an attack could strike at any time. Russia denies that it has any plans to attack.
on Tuesday, Russian Defense Ministry Published footage to demonstrate that it was returning some soldiers to the base after the exercise. Biden said the US had not confirmed the move. “Our analysts indicate they remain in a very dangerous position.”
Hours after Moscow’s announcement, Ukraine said its defense ministry and two banks had an online network called distributed denial-of-service. The maneuver works when hackers flood the network with an unusually high amount of data traffic to paralyze it.
Although Kiev did not say who was behind the incident, a statement said it was pointing the finger at Russia.
The Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, which is part of the Ministry of Culture, said, “It is not ruled out that the attacker used dirty petty tactics because its offensive plans largely did not work.” Huh.”
Ukrainian bank PrivtBank users reported problems with payments and a banking app, while Oshadbank said its system slowed down.
Russia’s Federal Security Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
“If Russia attacks the United States or our allies through asymmetric means, such as disruptive cyber attacks against our companies or critical infrastructure, we stand ready to respond,” Biden said in remarks televised from the White House.
A European diplomat said the hacking was related because a full military attack on Ukraine would likely precede cyber attack,
“It could mean that a physical attack is imminent, or it could mean that Russia is constantly messing with Ukraine,” the diplomat said on condition of anonymity. While it is difficult to attribute such attacks, the diplomat said there was no doubt that Russia was behind them.
‘Semantic de-escalation’
The White House said energy prices could be hit if sanctions are imposed on Moscow after the invasion as diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis continued on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on a call from Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that “verifiable, credible, meaningful de-escalation” is needed by Moscow.
Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed preparedness for Russia to face the “serious consequences” of the crisis.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there are “signals from Moscow that diplomacy should continue” but also that Russia often leaves military equipment behind after exercises, creating the possibility of forces regrouping.
In a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Russian President Vladimir Putin only briefly mentioned the military’s move.
Putin told reporters that Russia would not be satisfied that Ukraine was not ready to join NATO anytime soon and was seeking to resolve the issue now.
“As for the war in Europe … do we want it or not? Absolutely not. That is why we propose for a negotiating process, which should result in an agreement on ensuring equal security for all, including our country, “They said.
Russia has been pressing the West for a set of security guarantees and says it can use troops on its territory as it thinks fit.
Russia’s show of force near Ukraine’s borders has prompted months of frantic Western diplomacy and threatened severe sanctions if it attacks.
The Kremlin tried to portray its moves as proof that the Western talk of war was both false and hysterical.
“February 15, 2022 will go down in history as the Western war propaganda failed. Humiliated and destroyed without firing a single shot,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The Defense Ministry published footage showing tanks and other armored vehicles loading onto railway flatcars. Western military analysts said they needed more information to judge the significance of the latest military movements.
Commercial satellite images taken on Sunday and Monday showed a flurry of Russian military activity at several locations near Ukraine.
Russian stocks, government bonds and the ruble rose sharply on hopes that the situation was easing, and Ukrainian government bonds rose. Major stock indices rose in the United States and Europe.
Oil fell more than 3%, retreating from a seven-year high.
“The situation is very fluid, but today is certainly a calm day,” said Robert Yeager, executive director of Energy Futures at Mizuho. “It will be a minute-by-minute, day-to-day sort of thing.”
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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