Officials in the U.S. and Europe are countering what could be a three-pronged escalation from Russia seven months after the country began its invasion of Ukraine. The country’s military draft, geopolitical moves and energy standoff with Europe are all coming to a head.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow is warning Americans who live in Russia to get out while they can amid panic over a military draft in Russia. The country is calling up 300,000 reservists to help fight the war in Ukraine. Russia is set to formally annex four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine following referendum votes that wrapped up Tuesday. The referenda were widely seen as a sham with regions voting to join Russia at rates of 87% or higher. The U.S. announced it will propose a U.S. Security Council resolution to condemn the results.
“We know the outcomes of these sham referenda were pre-determined in Moscow,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said. “The Ukrainian people have already demonstrated they will never accept being subjugated to Russian rule. This council and the international community must do the same.”
The European Union is joining a list of officials and experts who suspect Tuesday’s Nord Stream pipeline leaks were an act of sabotage.
The EU’s foreign policy chief has said all available information indicates those leaks are a result of a deliberate act. While the EU did not identify a perpetrator, Poland suggested the leaks could be part of Russia’s hybrid war on NATO. Russia denied having anything to do with the leaks and called Poland’s allegations “predictable and stupid.”
