Biden and Ukrainian President Zelensky will speak today
From Natasha Bertrand and Jasmine Wright
US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky will speak at 10:45 a.m. ET Sunday, amid US warnings that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could happen as soon as this week.
Biden and Zelensky last spoke last month and it "did not go well," a senior Ukrainian official told CNN at the time, amid disagreements over the "risk levels" of a Russian attack.
The White House, however, disputed that account, warning that anonymous sources were "leaking falsehoods." They did state that Biden warned Zelensky an imminent invasion was a "distinct possibility."
9:51 a.m. ET, February 13, 2022
German Chancellor says there is a "very, very serious" threat to peace in Europe
From CNN's Stephanie Halasz
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the threat to peace in Europe “very very serious,” amid concern over the Russian troop buildup near Ukraine's borders.
In brief comments outside the German parliament following a vote to re-elect the country's president, Scholz previewed his visits to Kyiv on Monday and to Moscow on Tuesday by describing his task as exploring how to keep the peace on the continent.
Scholz said that if there was a military aggression against Ukraine, there would be “reactions and sanctions which we have prepared carefully.”
At the same time, Scholz said, the available avenues for talks had to be used.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was backed by the federal assembly to serve a second five-year term. The role is largely ceremonial.
9:33 a.m. ET, February 13, 2022
Russian Foreign Ministry says withdrawal of OSCE observers from Ukraine is a "serious concern"
From CNN's Nathan Hodge and Olga Pavlova in Moscow
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has criticized the decision by the United States and United Kingdom to withdraw observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE) Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The ministry said that the mission was being "deliberately dragged into a militaristic psychosis" allegedly being orchestrated by Washington.
In a statement released Sunday, MFA spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: "These decisions cannot but cause serious concern with us…. The mission is being deliberately dragged into a militaristic psychosis being whipped up by Washington and used as a tool for possible provocation."
She added: "We call on the OSCE leadership to resolutely suppress attempts to manipulate the Mission and prevent the Organization from being dragged into unscrupulous political games played around it. We proceed from the fact that in conditions of artificially whipped up tension, the monitoring activities of the Mission in full compliance with its mandate are in demand more than ever."
The US and the UK say they have pulled their observers over concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine.
9:26 a.m. ET, February 13, 2022
Pope Francis appeals to "conscience" of political leaders over Russia-Ukraine crisis
From CNN’s Hada Messia and Eleanor Pickston
Pope Francis appealed to political leaders on Sunday, urging them to seek peace amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
“The news from Ukraine is very worrying. I entrust every effort for peace to the intercession of the Virgin Mary and to the conscience of the political leaders,” the pontiff said following his weekly Angelus prayer, before leading the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City in silent prayer.
Francis has made numerous calls for peace regarding the situation at the Ukraine-Russia border, and led an international day of prayer for Ukraine last month.
10:22 a.m. ET, February 13, 2022
Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Infrastructure denies reports of closed airspace
From CNN's Olga Voitovych, Niamh Kennedy, Katharina Krebs and Jake Kwon
Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Infrastructure has denied reports that the country's airspace has closed, calling them "not true."
"The airspace closure is the sovereign right of Ukraine. At the moment the government has not taken such a decision," Mustafa Nayyem said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
This was echoed by Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podoliak who told CNN Sunday that "the sky over Ukraine remains open and safe" and "there have been no decisions to close the airspace."
Dutch airline KLM announced in a statement Saturday that it would "immediately" stop flying to Ukraine following "an extensive safety analysis."
But Nayyem played down fears that other carriers would suspend services to the country, remarking that "most airlines continue to operate without restrictions."
Some carriers have had issues with "fluctuations in the insurance markets," Nayyem said, branding this "obvious" considering the current information space and events.
However, Vyacheslav Chernyakhovsky, director of the Ukrainian Insurance Business Association, told CNN on Sunday that the "situation now is not very rosy" and highly changeable.
"It may indeed be that in the coming hours or days, some or even all international flights to Ukraine may be temporarily suspended," Chernyakhovsky said.
Insurers are mindful "based on the experience of previous years and similar situations in other countries and in Ukraine itself" of their financial and moral responsibility and need "to protect themselves from potentially catastrophic events," Chernyakhovsky added.
Air France told CNN on Sunday that it has no plans to suspend services to Ukraine. A company spokesperson for Lufthansa told CNN in a statement Sunday that "a suspension of services is being examined, but no decision has been made at the present time."
The Ukrainian Ministry for Infrastructure held a meeting on Sunday with all carriers, the Office of the President and "other relevant services," according to Nayyem.
The Ukrainian government expects the situation to "stabilize in the nearest future," according to Nayyem, who reiterated the state's willingness to "support air carriers" and provide "additional financial guarantees to support the aviation market," no matter what happens.
If necessary, Nayyem added, Ukraine will also work to "ensure the return of all citizens of Ukraine from abroad" as further countries urge their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately.
Some context: In July 2014,Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. Nearly two-thirds of the passengers on the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were Dutch citizens.
Investigators concluded in 2018 that the flight had been brought down by a missile fired from a launcher belonging to Russia's 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade. Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the incident, suggesting instead that Ukrainian forces shot down the plane.
10:44 a.m. ET, February 13, 2022
The West is challenging Russia’s disinformation playbook in Ukraine. Will it work?
From CNN's Tara John
Corpses strewn through wrecked buildings in the aftermath of an apparently deadly explosion. Distraught mourners, grieving for lost loved ones. And amid the smoldering ruins, evidence of Western military equipment.
In a world all too familiar with graphic images of one disaster after another, it's easy to imagine the grim footage.
And the United States says that's exactly what this is: make-believe violence. It says Russia is plotting to stage a fake attack, and shoot a gory propaganda video of it, as a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine. The clip would frame the Ukrainian military -- and by extension, their NATO allies -- for an attack on Russian-speaking people.
But while the US government declassified the information about the alleged plot last week, it didn't share any of its underlying evidence with the public. In a heated briefing room exchange, journalists demanded proof to support the claim, with one reporter accusing the State Department of veering into "Alex Jones territory."
State Department spokesperson Ned Price responded that the government was confident in the information but would not say if the US had seen any such video.
"We are trying to deter the Russians from moving forward with this type of activity. That is why we are making it public," Price said, before adding: "If you doubt the credibility of the US government, of the British government, of other governments, and want to find solace in information that the Russians are putting out, that is for you to do."
The US claim came days after the British government warned of a Russian plot to install a pro-Kremlin leader in Ukraine, citing intelligence that it also declined to release publicly. Analysts said the developments showed the West was becoming more determined to take on Russia in the information war, a sphere in which the Kremlin has often had the upper hand in recent years.
UK minister says there is "a whiff of Munich in the air" as countries double down on diplomacy with Russia
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Eleanor Pickston in London
British defense minister Ben Wallace has said there is a “whiff of Munich in the air,” comparing the current diplomatic efforts with Russia to the infamous Munich conference of 1938 which saw Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom sign an agreement green-lighting Germany’s annexation of the Sudetenland in a last-ditch attempt to stave off war in Europe.
“It may be that he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] just switches off his tanks and we all go home but there is a whiff of Munich in the air from some in the West,” Wallace told Britain's Sunday Times newspaper.
A government colleague, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, shed light on Wallace’s remarks in an interview with Sky News on Sunday, saying that Wallace was drawing a comparison “between the diplomatic attempts in the run up to World War Two and the diplomatic attempts we're all putting in now.”
“In the run up to World War Two there was lots of diplomatic work, people thought it was progressing and it turned out not to,” Lewis said.
Lewis stressed the need to be "cognizant" that Russia now has the ability "to move very, very swiftly and very quickly."
Unlike World War Two, which saw Britain directly engage in battle with its adversaries, the UK has committed to not sending any troops to Ukraine if there is conflict with Russia.
The UK has placed its focus instead on bolstering NATO’s defenses, with Wallace issuing a direct warning to Putin that defense spending will be ramped up if he invades Ukraine.
“I think what I can guarantee the president in Russia is that if he were to invade the Ukraine, two things would happen that he doesn’t want to happen. One is he would see an increase of NATO forces on his borders, because countries such as the Baltic states and neighboring countries would be much more fearful of the instability that has happened," Wallace told the Sunday Times.
"The second thing is, I guarantee that across 30 [NATO] allies it would trigger more defense spending and therefore a more capable adversary or defender from Russia.”
6:40 a.m. ET, February 13, 2022
Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin accuses Germany of "hypocrisy" over weapons
From CNN's Stephanie Halasz
Ukraine's ambassador to Berlin on Sunday criticized Germany’s refusal to deliver defensive weapons to Kyiv, labelling it “German hypocrisy" on Twitter.
The ambassador, Andrij Melnyk, tweeted: “NO weapons for Ukraine‘s self-defence against Russian military invasion BUT 366 million € (!) (German) exports of dual-use goods to Russia in 2020 alone which can be destined to boost weapons production (Nr. 4 on export list). Irrespective of EU santions (sic)‼️”
Melnyk has taken to Twitter in the past to ask the Germans for weapons for self-defense.
Some context: Last month, German Defense Secretary Christine Lambrecht announced that the country would supply 5,000 military helmets to Ukraine as tensions grew with Russia -- in addition to a field hospital and medical training that Germany was already providing to Ukraine.
"The German government has very clearly agreed that we will not send any lethal weapons, or arms deliveries to conflict areas because we do not want to fuel these conflicts further," Lambrecht told reporters. She added that Germany was "firmly convinced" that there was still a chance to achieve a peaceful solution through negotiation.
6:51 a.m. ET, February 13, 2022
Ukraine-Russia tensions are “reaching a very dangerous stage,” says Australian PM
From Lauren Lau and CNN’s Sophie Jeong
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday that circumstances in Ukraine are “reaching a very dangerous stage,” after Australia temporarily suspended its embassy operations in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
“The situation as you are all hearing as well is deteriorating and is reaching a very dangerous stage,” Morrison told a news conference. “The autocratic unilateral actions of Russia to be threatening and bullying Ukraine is something that is completely and utterly unacceptable."
Morrison said the families and others of Australian-based staff in its embassy operations in Kyiv had already departed some time ago and that three remaining staff have now been instructed to move to Lviv.
The Prime Minister also called out China in the news conference, saying the country remains “chillingly silent” on Russian troops amassing near Ukraine’s border in recent weeks. His words come after China criticized a meeting of the United States, Australian, Japanese and Indian foreign ministers in Melbourne last week.