This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (November 2023)

Many states, international organizations, and civil society actors worldwide had expressed their reactions to the then-escalating crisis between Russia and Ukraine that started in March 2021. The crisis eventually culminated in a Russian invasion of Ukraine, beginning on 24 February 2022.

Ukraine

In an interview with the French newspaper Libération in April 2021, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that provocations by Russia with the relocation of troops to the border with Ukraine and the aggravation of the situation in the east are the most serious since the attack on Ukrainian sailors in the Kerch Strait in November 2018. At the same time, the current threat from Russia was more dangerous.^[1] In an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE, Kuleba said that Ukraine did not want a war with Russia and was not preparing for any escalation in Donbas at the time. In particular, it was not preparing any offensives or military operations.^[2] During renewed tensions in January 2022, Kuleba stated that any reckless step of the Russian Federation or a new round of violence on its part would cost it dearly.^[3] Kuleba said that Russia continued to increase its military presence along the Ukrainian-Russian border, in the occupied territories and in the seas of Ukraine. According to him, Russia was gathering troops in three directions, including in the northeast of Ukraine; in Crimea, in the south; and in the Donbas, in the east. Kuleba also added that in recent weeks, Russia had significantly intensified its propaganda, which dehumanizes Ukrainians and sows hatred for Ukraine.^[4] On 22 January 2022, Kuleba accused Germany of "undermining" unity among the country's allies and of "encouraging" Russian President Putin to attack Ukraine by refusing to deliver weapons to Ukraine.^[5]

Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, stated that Ukraine seeks to resolve the conflict in the east of the country primarily through political and diplomatic means. "Ukraine currently has no plan to return the temporarily occupied territories by military means, our task is to resolve the conflict exclusively through political and diplomatic means," he said. "Everything else is a pure information war of the Russian Federation, which they are waging not only on our territory but throughout Europe."^[6]

In September 2021, Ukraine's Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko accused Russia of using natural gas as a "geopolitical weapon".^[7] Vitrenko stated that "A joint statement from the United States and Germany said that if the Kremlin used gas as a weapon, there would be an appropriate response. We are now waiting for the imposition of sanctions on a 100% subsidiary of Gazprom, the operator of Nord Stream 2."^[8]

In November 2021, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence, said that Russia was preparing for an attack by the end of January or beginning of February 2022.^[9]

On 4 November, a new defence minister was approved — former Deputy Prime Minister – Minister for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksii Reznikov, who participated in the meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group on behalf of Ukraine.^[10][11]

In January 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message that the country's citizens should not panic and appealed to the media to be "methods of mass information and not mass hysteria."^[12][13]

Former leader of the "Right Sector", Dmytro Yarosh said on Facebook on January 24 that in the event of a Russian strike on Ukraine from the territory of the Republic of Belarus, Ukrainian fighters will turn their lives into hell:

On 24 January 2022, Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said that the movement of Russian troops near Ukraine's border was "not news" and "we don't see any grounds for statements about a full-scale offensive on our country."^[14] According to Danilov, the implementation of the Minsk agreements, in particular the broad autonomy to the rebel-held Donbas, "means the country's destruction. When they were signed under the Russian gun barrel — and the German and the French watched — it was already clear for all rational people that it's impossible to implement those documents."^[15]

On 25 January 2022, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said he saw no immediate threat of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, insisting that the threat had not significantly increased in eight years as "the Russian army ha not formed a strike group that would be able to carry out an invasion".^[16][17] Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar stated the variety of Russian troops massed on Ukraine's borders "are not enough for a full-scale invasion."^[18]

In late January 2022, Zelenskyy went on to accuse Ukraine's western allies of "sowing unrest with predictions of imminent war."^[19] On 28 January 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the West not to create a "panic" in his country over a potential Russian invasion, adding that constant warnings of an "imminent" threat of invasion were putting the economy of Ukraine at risk.^[20][21] Zelenskyy stated that "we do not see a bigger escalation" than in early 2021 when the first Russian military build-up began.^[22] On 2 February, the US White House announced it would no longer describe the potential invasion as "imminent".^[23] On 12 February 2022, in response to the White House's "imminent" Russian invasion warnings, Zelenskyy asserted that "in the information space, there is too much information about a deep, full-scale invasion from Russia. The best friend of our enemy is panic in our country, and all that information which helps create only panic doesn't help us."^[24][25]

On 19 February 2022, speaking at the Munich Security Conference 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the "policy of appeasement" towards Russia and called on Western countries to help.^[26] He also declared that Ukraine would not respond to provocations by Russian-backed militants in Donbas, following the death of two Ukrainian soldiers by separatists forces.^[27] On 22 February 2022, Zelenskyy said he would consider severing Ukraine's diplomatic relations with Russia.^[28]

Russia

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied that it has any plans to invade Ukraine.^[29][30] Despite the Russian military build-ups, Russian officials over months repeatedly denied that Russia had plans to invade Ukraine.^{[31][32][33][34]}

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed such fears as "alarmist".^[35] The Russian embassy in Washington, D.C. called the movements of Russian troops a "sovereign right" and said in a Facebook post: "Once again we emphasize: Russia is not going to attack anyone."^[36] Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, dismissed reports of a possible invasion of Ukraine asserting that it was "malicious propaganda by the US State Department".^[37] Putin's foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov dismissed fears of a military escalation as "nonsense", saying "We have the right to move the troops on our territory."^[38]

Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said "information about Russia's alleged impending invasion of Ukraine is a lie."^[39] According to Gerasimov, "Kyiv is not fulfilling the Minsk Agreements. The Ukrainian armed forces are touting that they have started to employ US-supplied Javelin anti-tank missile systems in Donbas and are also using Turkish reconnaissance/strike drones. As a result, the already tense situation in the east of that country is further deteriorating."^[40]

On 12 July 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote an article on Kremlin.ru, claiming that "Russians and Ukrainians were one people – a single whole" and wrote a long dissertation on the common origins of Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians in medieval Kievan Rus' and their history through the century, concluding that "true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia". He also argued that the Ukrainian leadership had "wasted and frittered away the achievements of many generations", accusing them of imposing a nationalist, anti-Russian sentiment against the will of the Ukrainian people.^[41] The article received a detailed response from British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on Gov.uk on 17 January 2022.^[42]

On 30 November 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that an expansion of NATO's presence in Ukraine, especially the deployment of any long-range missiles capable of striking Russian cities or missile defense systems similar to those in Romania and Poland, would be a "red line" issue for Russia.^[43][44][45] Putin asked U.S. President Joe Biden for legal guarantees that NATO wouldn't expand eastward or put "weapons systems that threaten us in close vicinity to Russian territory."^[46] According to Putin, "If some kind of strike systems appear on the territory of Ukraine, the flight time to Moscow will be seven to 10 minutes, and five minutes in the case of a hypersonic weapon being deployed."^[47]

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that the security of Russians, including in the occupied Donbas is a priority for Vladimir Putin.^[48] Peskov denied allegations that Russia is preparing for a possible invasion of Ukraine.^[49]

Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration and a parliamentarian at the level of political advisers, said that the intensification of hostilities in Donbas could be the beginning of the end of Ukraine. The same applies to Ukraine's accession to NATO.^[50]

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said: "They talk about the high price, but never call it. What they have done so far, we have, firstly, studied well, and secondly, adapted. We do not think that at all can the following terminology should be used: price, retribution, etc. We are simply defending our interests and the interests of our citizens, the Russian-speaking population, we will continue to defend them".^[51] Ryabkov said Russia has "no intention of attacking, staging an offensive on or invading Ukraine."^[52] Asked about the possibility of Russian military deployment to Cuba and Venezuela, Ryabkov said "it all depends on the actions by our US counterparts".^[53]

On 19 January 2022, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia does "not want and will not take any action of aggressive character. We will not attack, strike, invade, 'whatever' Ukraine."^[54] Russia accused Ukraine of not implementing Minsk agreements reached in 2015 with the aim of establishing peace in Donbas.^[55]

Dmitry Medvedev, a deputy head of Russia's Security Council, told Russian media that "Cuba and Venezuela are aiming to come out of isolation and restore normal relations with the U.S. to a certain extent, so there can't be any talk about setting up a base there as happened during the Soviet times."^[56]

In December 2021, a Levada Center poll found that 48% of Russians believed that the U.S. and NATO were responsible for the Russo-Ukrainian crisis, while 16% blamed Ukraine and just 4% blamed Russia.^[57][58]

In January 2022, the United States accused Russia of sending saboteurs into Ukraine to stage "a false-flag operation" that would create a pretext for Russia to invade Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the U.S. claim as "total disinformation."^[30] On 4 February 2022, Lavrov dismissed as "nonsense" and "craziness" allegations by the United States that Russia was preparing a fake video of the Ukrainian forces attacking the separatist-held Donbas as a pretext for starting a war in Ukraine.^[59]

On 13 January 2022, Russian political journalist Anton Krasovsky, director of broadcasting in Russian on the RT channel, threatened to burn the Constitution of Ukraine on Khreshchatyk because of the course prescribed in it for joining NATO.^[60]

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny wrote in several letters to Time magazine that the West keeps falling into Putin's traps and "Instead of ignoring this nonsense, the U.S. accepts Putin's agenda and scrambles to organize some meetings."^[61]

On 24 January 2022, Russia began its naval exercise in the Baltic Sea involving communications, air defense, anti-submarine defense and combat exercises.^[62] Anti-terror groups were also participating from the Baltic Fleet. In late January 2022, Nikolai Zhuravlev, vice speaker of the Federation Council, warned that Europe would not receive natural gas, petroleum and metals from Russia in the event that Russia was disconnected from the SWIFT international payment system, moreover such a move could not be feasible as it would require consent of all the countries participating in this system.^[63]

In August 2021, Russian Security Council secretary and Putin's close ally Nikolai Patrushev predicted that the United States would abandon its allies in Ukraine just as it abandoned its allies in Afghanistan, saying that "...Kyiv is obsequiously serving the interests of its overseas patrons, striving to get into NATO. But was the ousted pro-American regime in Kabul saved by the fact that Afghanistan had the status of a principal U.S. ally outside NATO? (No). A similar situation awaits supporters of the American choice in Ukraine."^[64] In late January 2022, during a visit to mark the anniversary of the end of the Siege of Leningrad during the Second World War, Patrushev asserted that the idea that Russia is "threatening Ukraine" was "absolutely ridiculous" and added: "We don't want war. We don't need that at all."^[65]

According to Maxim Suchkov, acting director of the Institute for International Studies at Moscow's MGIMO University, "the Russian military deployments alongside the Ukrainian border at this moment are not about invading Ukraine. ... wars are fought to achieve certain political goals, not just for the hell of it."^[57]

A few weeks before the invasion of Ukraine, Putin's former advisor and Kremlin insider Sergei Markov claimed it would not be a "war against Ukraine, but to liberate Ukraine" from the pro-Western government that took power in 2014, adding that "a military operation now would prevent a wider war in future."^[66]

In February 2022, Putin warned that Ukraine's accession to NATO could embolden Ukraine to reclaim control over Russian-annexed Crimea or areas ruled by pro-Russian separatists in Donbas, saying "Imagine that Ukraine is a NATO member and a military operation begins. What - are we going to fight with NATO? Has anyone thought about this?"^[67]

On 7 February 2022, Putin said at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron that "A number of ideas, proposals ... are possible as a basis for further steps. We will do everything to find compromises that suit everyone."^[68] Putin promised not to carry out new military initiatives near Ukraine.^[69]

On 12 February 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the United States and its allies of waging a "propaganda campaign" about Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[70]

Valentina Matviyenko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council, said that without strict implementation of the Minsk agreements Ukraine "would be doomed to live in its current state: with a burden of confrontation with Russia, hit by internal conflict, with weak state institutions that are unable to properly govern the country."^[71]

On 26 February 2022, Russia had blocked access to Twitter,^[72] and Facebook the day prior. Russia claimed that Facebook was censoring speech, while Facebook alleges that the country requested the platform to stop fact-checking Russian-aligned media posts.^[73][74]

On 7 February 2022, Putin said at a joint press conference with French president Emmanuel Macron: "A number of ideas, proposals are possible as a basis for further steps. We will do everything to find compromises that suit everyone."^[75] On 12 February 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described Western "demands to remove Russian troops from Russian territory" as "regrettable".^[76][77] On 11 February 2022, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace held a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov,^[78] with Shoigu denying plans of a Russian invasion of Ukraine^[79] and Wallace supporting the implementation of the Minsk agreements "as a clear way forward".^[80]

Two days after the start of the full-scale invasion, MEP and former Estonian military commander Riho Terras shared a Ukrainian intelligence report containing leaked information of an alleged meeting between Putin and oligarchs in the Urals. Commenting on the report, Terras claimed that "Putin is furious, he thought that the whole war would be easy and everything would be done in 1–4 days."^[81] Politico hypothesised that the Russian president hoped to imitate "the relative ease with which the militants took control of the Afghan capital within days of the Western retreat", which "made Ukraine seem a tantalizing prospect. Perhaps Putin thought he'd roll into Kyiv the way the Taliban rolled into Kabul".^[82]

According to sources close to the Kremlin, most of Putin's close advisers opposed the invasion, and even Putin's hawkish ally Nikolai Patrushev advised Putin to give diplomacy another chance three days before the invasion, but Putin overruled them all.^[83] Information gathered from Russian sources indicated that the invasion had been planned for almost a year and that the Russian government had invested a significant amount of resources in its preparation.^[83][84] In a report published in mid-December 2022, Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence revealed that its intelligence suggested that the FSB had repeatedly urged chief of staff Valery Gerasimov to initiate the invasion but that Putin had ordered Gerasimov to postpone the invasion on at least three occasions, the last time in mid-February 2022.^[84]

Russian citizens

Anti-war

In a video posted to YouTube on 11 April 2021, Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov predicted that the Russian invasion of Ukraine would end in tragedy and humiliation for Russia. He also predicted fierce Ukrainian resistance.^[85] On 22 March 2022, he was charged under Russia's "false information" law after publishing information that Russian forces shelled a maternity hospital in Mariupol.^[86]

A statement was issued on 24 February 2022 by the Russian government that anti-war protesters found demonstrating against the invasion could be arrested for organizing, and to not take part in the "unauthorized protests". One protest monitoring group OVD-Info reported that more than 960 anti-war protestors had been detained by 9 pm on 24 February.^[87]

Russian rapper Oxxxymiron announced he would cancel six concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg in response to the invasion.^[88]

State Duma deputy Mikhail Matveev voted in favor of the recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics but later denounced the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, stating "I voted for peace, not for war. I wanted #Russia to become a shield so that #Donbas would not be bombed, not for #Kyiv to be bombed."^[89]

Lyudmila Narusova, a member of the State Duma, on 27 February stated in a television interview: "I do not identify myself with those representatives of the state that speak out in favor of the war. I think they themselves do not know what they are doing. They are following orders without thinking." She also stated that Russian soldiers in Ukraine lay "unburied; wild, stray dogs gnawing on bodies that in some cases cannot be identified because they are burned."^[90]

Intellectuals

On 30 January 2022, 90 Russian intellectuals, including Lev Ponomaryov, Valery Borshchev [ru], Svetlana Gannushkina, Leonid Gozman, Liya Akhedzhakova and Andrey Makarevich issued a public statement in Echo of Moscow opposing the Russian government's threats of a full invasion of Ukraine. They stated that the authorities had not consulted the public and that state media was uniquely pro-war. They objected to presenting war as being inevitable. Ponomaryov, Gannushkina and their co-signees strongly objected to an attack on Ukraine as unjustified and immoral. They predicted the development of a Russian mass anti-war movement and promised to do their best to prevent the war.^[91] More intellectuals and activists signed the anti-war statement. As of 7 February 2022^[update], the statement had been signed by 5000 Russian intellectuals.^[92][93]

On 20 February, Ponomaryov and seven others, including Yuri Samodurov, held individual protests in Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow, with banners declaring "Schools and hospitals instead of bombs and shells", "Hands off Ukraine", "Down with the Chekists", "Russia, don't touch Ukraine", "No war with Ukraine", and "Freedom for Ukrainian political prisoners". The eight protestors were arrested.^[94]

Military

On 31 January, retired Colonel General Leonid Ivashov published a statement on behalf of the All-Russian Officers Assembly, a nationalist association of retired and reserve officers.^[95][96] The statement opposed the Russian threat to attack Ukraine, describing it as a "criminal policy of provoking a war". The statement argued that neither Ukraine nor NATO was a threat to Russia, but instead an attack by Russia would threaten Russia's existence as a state, and would risk escalating into a war between Russia and NATO. Russia was seen as threatened by "the unviability of the state model, the complete incapacity and lack of professionalism of the system of power and administration, the passivity and disorganisation of society." The statement called for Putin to resign.^[95][92]

Belarus

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has stated that his country "does not want war", but if someone "pulls it, imposes sanctions or intimidates it", it will "almost give up" because, in his words, they are invincible.^[97] He also stated that he would send "a whole contingent of the Belarusian army" to the border with Ukraine, because "Ukrainians allegedly began to draw troops there."^[98]

On January 18, the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council expert group published a review of the arrival of Russian troops in the Republic of Belarus. In particular, it was about unloading Russian Hurricane multiple rocket launchers at the Rechitsa station in the Gomel region north of Kyiv.^[99]

NATO

NATO became a flash point during the crisis, with one of the Russian government's main demands being that NATO stop admitting new members, particularly Georgia and Ukraine.^[100] Russia also strongly opposed Finland and Sweden's potential accession to NATO, both of which had publicly declared interest in joining after Russian threats of further invading Ukraine.^[101]

As of 2023^[update], Ukraine is not a NATO member^[102] but has affirmed its goal of eventually joining NATO. Ukraine participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, including the annual Sea Breeze and Rapid Trident military exercises.^[103] NATO has repeatedly called upon Russia to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemned Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. In response to the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Donbas, NATO called for the resolution of the conflict via the Minsk agreements.^[103] In December 2021, as Russia continued a military buildup on Ukraine's borders, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly met with Ukrainian leaders. In the meeting, NATO representatives reaffirmed the alliance's support for Ukraine, called upon NATO members to increase the delivery of defensive weapon systems to Ukraine, and supported efforts to counter Russian disinformation.^[104] NATO indicated it would not defend Ukraine if Russia attacked it.^[105]

Talks in January 2022 between the U.S. and Russia were at an impasse over Russia's demand that Ukraine be barred from joining NATO, with the lead Russian negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, saying that it was "absolutely mandatory" that Ukraine "never, never, ever" join NATO.^[106] By contrast NATO and the U.S. have affirmed NATO's "open door" policy, maintaining that countries should freely choose whether to join NATO or not.^[106] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that: "No one else has the right to try to veto or interfere in that process. And this is about fundamental principles for European security. It's about the right for every nation to choose their own path."^[107]

During the crisis, Stoltenberg urged Russia to turn away from belligerency, participate in diplomatic talks, and cooperate with NATO.^[108] In a January 2021 interview, he reaffirmed NATO's "dual track" approach to Russia, saying, "We are ready to engage in dialogue with Russia, but we will never compromise on core principles for European security....Russia has a choice to either engage in dialogue with NATO and Western allies or choose confrontation. We need to be clear-eyed about the prospect that Russia will — once again — use military force against Ukraine. We will provide support to Ukraine to enable them to strengthen their ability to defend themselves."^[109]

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stated that Spain wanted "dialogue, but if does not bear fruit, of course, Spain will stand with its European partners and its NATO allies united in deterrence".^[110]

On 24 January, NATO announced it would send additional military forces to its Eastern members while putting its troops on standby.^[111][112] Discussing the actions in a press release, Stoltenberg declared "NATO will continue to take all necessary measures to protect and defend all Allies, including by reinforcing the eastern part of the Alliance. We will always respond to any deterioration of our security environment, including through strengthening our collective defence."^[112] Deployments included four Danish F-16 fighter jets being sent to Lithuania, in addition to a frigate travelling to the Baltic Sea. Two Dutch F-35 fighter jets will also be deployed to Bulgaria. The chief of staff of the Belgian army also stated that the country was ready to send more forces to NATO's eastern allies.^[113] Russia's deputy foreign minister, Alexander Grushko condemned the deployments, saying that the military alliance was "demonising Russia" in order to "justify military activity on eastern flank".^[114]

On 25 February, British troops arrived in Estonia as part of a NATO mission amidst the conflict.^[115]

United Nations

After the invasion started on February 24, 2022 United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General António Guterres stated that the Russian invasion was "the saddest moment in my tenure" and called on Putin to withdraw his troops "in the name of humanity".^[116]

On 25 February, the U.N Security Council failed to adopt a draft resolution which would have "deplored, in the strongest terms, the Russian Federation's aggression" on Ukraine, despite support from the majority of members. Of the 15 member states on the Security Council, 11 were in support, whilst 3 abstained from voting.^[117] The draft resolution was voted down through Russia's veto.^[117][118]

On 2 March 2022, the UN General Assembly voted to deplore "in the strongest possible terms" Russia's aggression against Ukraine by a vote of 141 to 5, with 35 abstentions.^[119] The resolution also calls for the Russian Federation to "immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine" and "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces."^[119] Only Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea voted against the resolution.^[120]

On 4 March, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution by a vote of 32 to 2, with 13 abstentions, calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops and Russian-backed armed groups from Ukraine and humanitarian access to people in need. The resolution also establishes a commission to investigate alleged rights violations committed during Russia's military attack on Ukraine.^[121]

On 24 March, the UN General Assembly voted 140 to 5 in favor of a resolution approving aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine, and which again criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine.^[122]

On 7 April, the UN General Assembly voted 93–24, with 58 abtensions, to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.^[123]

Other countries' reactions

Europe

On 13 January 2022, due to what it regarded as Russia's aggressive behaviour, Denmark sent four F-16 fighter jets and a frigate with a crew of 160 people to the Baltic states to reinforce the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence and patrol the sea.^[124][125] On January 24, Belgian Chief Head of Defense Michel Hofman stated that Belgian forces are on standby in the Baltic, and prepared "to intervene within a certain amount of time, but today it is too early to say where and how" should the situation escalate.^[126] On 19 January 2022, Croatia's prime minister Andrej Plenković told Sabor: "Croatia doesn't want escalation and will react clearly and decisively to avoid any kind of instabilities".^[127] On 25 January 2022, Croatia's president Zoran Milanović, who has no executive powers in the country's political system, noting what he called NATO's military build-up in the region and the Biden administration's "inconsistent and dangerous conduct" in international security affairs and stressing his role as Croatia's commander-in-chief, told the press, "We do not have any bearing on this and we will not have anything to do with this. I guarantee this. Croatia will not send any troops in case of an escalation. On the contrary, it will recall all troops, to the last Croatian soldier."^[128][129] Milanović went on to say that an "arrangement to meet Russia's security interests" ought to be found and that the acute crisis over Ukraine was "primarily determined by the dynamics of the U.S. domestic politics".^[129] On the same day, prime minister Andrej Plenković reacted to the president's remarks by saying that on hearing those he thought it was being said "by some Russian official"; he also offered apologies to Ukraine and its government for Milanović's accusation of Ukraine as "one of the most corrupt states" and reiterated that Croatia supported Ukraine's territorial integrity and no Croat troops were in Ukraine, while the president's statement "had nothing whatsoever to do with the policy of the government of the Republic of Croatia".^[130] The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, Ivan Korčok, stated that the ceasefire and the announcement of an increase in Russia's military power on the border with Ukraine are a matter of concern and call for de-escalation of tensions.^[131]

Albanian Armed Forces Colonel Ardian Lulaj and Kosovar Head of Strategic Communication Colonel Sefer Isufi both stated in early December 2021 that their respective countries would be willing to deploy Albanian Armed Forces and Kosovo Security Forces in a putative future mission in Ukraine should the US decide to lead such an endeavor.^[132]

In early January, Bulgarian Minister of Defense Stefan Yanev responded to a parliamentary question on the deployment of additional military units in Bulgarian territory that Bulgaria opposes "escalation of military measures before all other diplomatic means are used" and that Bulgaria had as of yet "no national position" on the situation.^[133] In December, Yanev's perceived dismissal and "snub" to the idea of increased NATO troops had caused agreement and some condemnation within parliament.^[134] On January 20, Bulgaria began receiving new deployments of aircraft, ships and NATO forces from Spain.^[135] As of January 21, Bulgaria's prior stance that it was not interested in any immediate new submarine purchases was reported to have "shifted", with the Bulgarian government now in negotiations to purchase two new submarines, with Yanev remarking that "the Bulgarian army must retain readiness... to react to the development of a negative scenario in relation to Ukraine and Russia", while continuing to reiterate his earlier calls for de-escalation.^[136] The same day, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov condemned the Russian call for Bulgaria to leave NATO and for NATO troops to be withdrawn from Bulgaria and Romania, while President Roumen Radev called the statement "unacceptable".^[137]

Also on 21 January 2022, during an interview, President of Moldova Maia Sandu declared that the Moldovan authorities were looking closely into the tensions in Ukraine and that certain preemptive measures were being adopted to prepare for possible outcomes of the crisis. Sandu also demanded the withdrawal of the Russian troops in Transnistria, a breakaway territory legally and internationally considered as part of Moldova.^[138]

On 23 January 2022, Pope Francis said, "I am following with concern the rising tensions that threaten to inflict a new blow to peace in Ukraine, and call into question the security of the European continent, with even wider repercussions".^[139]

On 24 January 2022, due to the conflict, the European Commission proposed €1.2 billion financial aid for Ukraine in grants and loans.^[140] Due to Russian naval exercises 240 km off Ireland's south-west coast, Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney said that Russia is not welcome.^[141] On the same day, commenting on the departure of family members of U.S. Government employees at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said there is no need "to dramatize as far as the negotiations are going on."^[142]

On 2 February 2022, President of Romania Klaus Iohannis asked the Romanian Armed Forces to be prepared for any aggression in the region and said that the tensions in Ukraine showed that measures of modernization and preparation of the Romanian military were necessary. Furthermore, Iohannis called for a greater presence of NATO, the United States and other allies in the region of the Black Sea as a result of the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.^[143] Previously, the Minister of National Defence of Romania Vasile Dîncu had said that Romania would not military involve itself in the event of a new Russian–Ukrainian war.^[144]

Baltic states

On 10 January 2022, Lithuanian State Defense Council was convened to discuss the Russian-Ukrainian tensions. In response to the aggressive Russian military behaviour, the council decided to increase the number of troops and speed up military modernization plans.^[145] On January 17, Latvia increased the military presence in the eastern part of the country.^[146] On 19 January, Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, announced an extraordinary increase of defense spending by €380 million for the current fiscal year.^[147] The Baltic states also decided to accelerate their own acquisition of arms, including the joint rocket artillery system.^[148][149]

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have also requested to increase the military deployments of NATO and American troops in the Baltics in order to deter the aggressive Russian behaviour.^[150]

Finland and Sweden

Russian proposals that NATO would not accept new members received strong criticism by Sweden and Finland who have been maintaining neutrality. In January 2022, both President of Finland Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin insisted on Finland's right to decide what alliances it can join.^[151] Sweden expressed the same position that it is only up to the Swedish people to decide whether Sweden should join NATO.^[152] Russian threats have sparked the debate in both countries whether they should apply for NATO membership.^[153][154]

On 13 January, Swedish Armed Forces announced that they were deploying troops to the strategic island of Gotland, as a response to unusual Russian military activity.^[155] Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Reactions_to_the_2021–2022_Russo-Ukrainian_crisis
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