Russia arrested Ukrainian consul and further escalated tension

These expulsions come after the Russian government called for an urgent summons to the Ukrainian charge d’affaires, Vasili Pokotilo, on the occasion of the arrest of his consul on Friday, when, according to Moscow, he had received information. on the FSB of a Russian Citizen. But in any case, the diplomat must benefit from the guarantees of the Geneva Convention, manifestly violated with the arrest of the Ukrainian consul.

Sosoniuk is already released after being detained for several hours by the Federal Security Service from Russia, as the spokesperson of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, confirmed to the RBK-Ukraine agency.

“Another provocation in the context of Russia’s destabilizing actions. Russian law enforcement officials detained an employee of the Ukrainian Consulate General in St. Petersburg for several hours. He is now at the Ukrainian diplomatic headquarters, ”the Ukrainian news agency reported.

This Saturday is a new episode in the long conflict facing the two countries since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 and then armed and led pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. Russia has amassed more than half a million troops in recent weeks at its border with Ukraine, which raises fears of a full-fledged invasion.

The Minsk Accords, signed in September 2014 and February 2015, laid the foundations for a solution to the conflict, but so far they have not passed the stage of a fragile armistice. Hostilities have so far claimed at least 13,000 lives, according to UN estimates. In August 2014, as the rebel forces armed by Moscow were totally defeated by Ukraine, Russian frontline troops crossed the border and quickly regained ground lost by their students. The Russian military acted without identification badges, but it was easy for experts to identify Russian forces by their weapons, uniforms and equipment.

Complaint by Germany

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer underlinedor to Russia for being a “concrete and immediate” threat to European security.

“Russia’s excessive armament and war in Central Europe this created real threats, ”Kramp-Karrenbauer said in an interview with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS). The strong statement indicates that the “special relationship” that Germany strived for with Russia even after the invasion of Ukraine in 2014 has ended.

“Reporting this is not anti-Russian. To signal this means to attack an important political fact and to take active security measures for our country and for Europe ”, declared the Minister.

He accused Russia of deploy missiles “which can reach Germany in a short time.” It was done in secret and against current arms control treaties, ”he said. After trying to hide it, Russia confirmed in 2018 the deployment of Iskander missiles with a range of 500 kilometers in the Kaliningrad enclave, between Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. These missiles carry nuclear warheads.

In addition, Kramp-Karrenbauer referred the massive dispatch of Russian troops and armored vehicles to the border with Ukraine. “Russian action, unfortunately, does not build confidence, but rather clearly aims to provoke reactions ”, has indicated. The German minister praised Ukraine’s “sensible” reaction. “With Ukraine, we don’t want to get into the Russian game.”

Russia is defined “more and more strongly as an anti-liberal and anti-democratic antithesis of the West”, recalled the German official.. “The sophisticated cyber attacks, arms exports, covert and overt political influence, assassinations, direct and indirect military involvementThese are some of the tools that Russia uses, ”Kramp-Karrenbauer said. Clearly, the days when Angela Merkel’s Germany maintained a special bond with Vladimir Putin’s Russia at all costs are long gone. Putin has gone too far, both in Ukraine and in the Baltic, according to Berlin’s interpretation of the case. The rest of Europe has thought the same for a long time.