•Poland, Ukraine, UK to intensify joint work to safeguard stability, build resilience in Ukraine, says joint statement
•As Germany sends reinforcements to Lithuania
By Burak Dag
With some 100,000 Russian troops still amassed on Ukraine’s border, Kyiv agreed with Poland and the UK on Thursday to develop a Trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation, according to a joint statement by the countries’ foreign ministries.
In a joint statement, the three countries said the memorandum would demonstrate the commitment to “further strengthening the strategic cooperation and engagement between our three nations on the highest priority issues in support of Ukraine.”
It underlined that Ukraine, Poland, and the UK would intensify their joint work “to safeguard stability and build resilience in Ukraine, strengthening democracy at the frontier in Eastern Europe.”
Emphasizing the determination to work together to advance cooperation between the three countries, it said that this cooperation would focus on cyber security, energy security, and boosting strategic communications to counter disinformation in addition to coordinating support to the International Crimea Platform.
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a conflict since hostilities in the eastern Donbas region broke out in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula.
“As Poland, the United Kingdom and Ukraine enjoy deep historical ties, built on shared values, a shared commitment to peace and security and a shared history of standing together against aggressors who threaten freedom in Europe,” it said.
The statement went on to say: “We reiterate that each European State is free to choose or change its security arrangements, including treaties of alliance, and no State can consider any part of Europe as its sphere of influence.”
“Poland and the UK will continue to provide Ukraine with support, standing in unity with Ukraine, in the face of ongoing Russian aggression, and fully committed to stand with Ukrainian nation in its efforts aimed at defending Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,” it added.
The US, with its European allies, has been warning since last November that Russia is preparing for aggression against Ukraine after having amassed over 100,000 troops and heavy equipment in and around its neighbor.
Russia has denied it is preparing to invade and accused the Western countries of undermining its security through NATO’s expansion towards its borders.
German army reinforcements reach Lithuania amid Ukraine crisis
First German-led NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group reinforcement military vehicles arrive to Rukla military base, in Lithuania February 17, 2022. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
A German army convoy of 130 soldiers and 60 vehicles reached Lithuania on Thursday, bringing almost half of planned reinforcements for the country’s German-led NATO battlegroup amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday there was now every indication Russia was planning to invade Ukraine, including signs Moscow was carrying out a false flag operation to provide a pretext, after Ukrainian government forces and pro-Moscow separatists traded fire.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said he was assured by German Chancellor Olof Scholz on Thursday in Brussels the German soldiers are authorized fight to defend Lithuania.
“The German army is on our territory to defend us, and if there’s a threat to Lithuania, they are really ready to do their duty,” Nauseda said.
The German reinforcement operation will continue until the end of the week, bolstering German forces in Lithuania by more than 350 soldiers and 100 vehicles, Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup commander Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Andrae said.
“We have proven that we are capable of bringing in forces at short notice from long distance,” he told Reuters.
The Ukraine crisis has prompted the U.S.-led NATO alliance to shore up its presence along its eastern flank in member states, including Lithuania, closer to Russia or Ukraine.
The convoy of artillery and reconnaissance units set out on Tuesday from Jaegerbrueck in eastern Germany and travelled overland through Poland. It will be followed by howitzers on heavy transport transporters in the next 2-3 days.
“The allied military presence in Lithuania is a critically important deterrence factor (aimed at Russia),” Lithuanian Deputy Defence Minister Margiris Abukevicius said on Thursday.
Norway will also increase its part in the German-led battlegroup by 50-60 soldiers for the next three months, bringing the total number of NATO troops there to 1,610, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said.
Britain said it would double the size of its forces in nearby Estonia where it heads a similar NATO battlegroup.
NATO has set up four multinational battlegroups in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland in 2017 after Russia annexed the Crimea region from Ukraine.
With tanks and over 5,000 troops, the battlegroups are set up to act as a tripwire and buy time by holding off any assault until reinforcements arrive.
Reporting by Janis Laizans in Rukla and Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Writing by Andrius Sytas; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Richard Chang
Credit | AA, Reuters