In June 2021, Biden and Putin They physically shook hands for the last time. Then, Putin assured that it had been a meeting “no hostility”, Rather the complete opposite”. It was not until a few weeks later that the tension began to escalate.
NATO and 46 countries showed their international support for Ukraine to recover Crimea. In the fall, Russia began to build up troops along the border. When Biden and Putin met again in December, the meeting was virtual and less friendly, raising the specter of the Cold War.
On December 8, Biden already warned Putin: “If you invade Ukraine, there will be serious consequences“. Russia insisted that the troop build-up was due to military maneuvers, but demanded guarantees that Ukraine would not enter NATO. Both leaders spoke again, but now only by phone and in a more hostile tone.
Already on January 13, the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenbergwarned of the “real risk of war in EuropeDuring those days, Putin sent troops to Belarus and Biden for the first time predicted that Putin would invade Ukraine. All the alarm bells sounded.
Less than two weeks after those words by Stoltenberg, Josep Borrel insisted that Europe was “in danger”, anticipating “the most dangerous situation since the cold war“. The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, refused to accept the Russian invasion, denying that there were tanks in the streets of Ukraine: “Those who are not here think so.”
Macron met with Putin in the Kremlin in the already iconic image of the long table separating both leaders. International diplomacy was hurrying up its last tricks, but Putin repeatedly denied his intentions. Then, part of the Russian troops moved away from the border, which ended up being a tactical move in the face of an increasingly real threat.
On February 18, Joe Biden anticipated the scenario that no one wanted to accept: “Putin intends to attack Ukraine in the coming days. They will target the capital, Kiev.” Six days later, the Russian Army crossed the border and started a war whose end we still do not know.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
